Ala. Immigration Law Hobbling State's Economy, Study Says | ACS

by Jeremy Leaming

Alabama?s harsh anti-immigrant law is already costing the state billions in lost revenue, according to a study by Samuel N. Addy, an economist at the University of Alabama.

Reporting for Politico, MJ Lee notes that Addy?s report, ?determined that the estimated 40,000 to 80,000 unauthorized immigrant workers fleeing the state have resulted in 70,000 to 140,000 jobs lost and $2.3 to $10.8 billion reduction in Alabama?s GDP annually.? The law moreover, is expected to cost the state ?$56.7 to $264.5 million in reduced state income and sale tax collections, as well as $20 to $93.1 million less in local sales tax collections ?.?

Addy?s study centers largely on the law?s harm to the state?s overall economy, concluding that because it has already spurred scores of undocumented people to flee the state it has negatively impacted the state?s economic landscape. The professor says the ?income generated by these people [undocumented workers fleeing the state] and their spending will decline. That results in a shrinking of the state economy and will be seen in lower economic output, personal income, fewer jobs, and lower tax revenues than would otherwise have been.?

In coming to this conclusion about the law?s impact on the state?s economy, Addy asserts that nobody ?can fault the intent of the law? and that the law is ?well-intentioned,? because it is aimed ?illegal immigration.? He also highlights some ?potential economic benefits of the law,? such as ?saving funds used to provide public benefits to illegal immigrants; increased safety for citizens and legal residents; more business, employment, and education opportunities; and ensuring the integrity of various governmental programs and services.?

Regardless of the law?s intent, its sweep has provoked protests throughout the state and some withering national scrutiny. Shortly after the law?s enactment, The New York Times opined that it was ?the country?s cruelest, most unforgiving immigration law.?

The editorial continued, ?It effectively makes it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant in Alabama, by criminalizing working, renting a home and failing to comply with federal registration laws that are largely obsolete. It nullifies any contracts when one party is an undocumented immigrant. It requires the police to check the papers of people they suspect to be here illegally.?

The law, like other anti-immigrant measures in Arizona, Georgia and Indiana, triggered a legal challenge in federal court by the Obama administration. In September, a federal judge in Alabama upheld the many of the law?s provisions against that challenge.

The Alabama law follows the strict anti-immigrant law that Arizona enacted, S.B. 1070, which has also been challenged by the federal government. The U.S. Supreme Court will consider the legality of the law this term. U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr., has argued in a brief filed with the high court that the Arizona law undermines the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to set uniform rules of naturalization.

Georgia and South Carolina have also followed Arizona?s lead enacting rigid anti-immigrant policy. Before Georgia enacted its law last year, Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO), warned that the state?s economy could be adversely affected by its enactment. He noted that the state?s leading industry, agriculture, ?employs one out of every seven residents. U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., has estimated that our nation?s agricultural workforce is made up of 50 to 70 percent undocumented immigrants. Because of these facts, the Georgia Farm Bureau has weighed in opposing the consideration of an Arizona copycat legislation for Georgia.?

A Feb. 7 ACS event in Atlanta will feature panels of experts exploring the legal challenges to the various state immigration measures. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the U.S. Justice Department Tony West and former Chief Judge of the U.S. District for the Northern District of Alabama U.W. Clemon will address the event called, ?The Constitutionality of Immigration Legislation: The State of State Laws.?

Source: http://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/ala-immigration-law-hobbling-state%E2%80%99s-economy-study-says

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