In response to Eileen Wright’s letter (“
Democrats have tried many times to work with Republicans on comprehensive immigration reform, but Trump has thrown a wrench in the works.
It is a myth that undocumented workers take jobs from citizens. These workers generally hold dirty and dangerous jobs that Americans do not want.
Non-citizens cannot vote and election protections exist to prevent this. A driver’s license does not allow a non-citizen to vote; instead, it protects other drivers by reducing hit-and-run accidents, assuring that the driver has passed a driving test and is required to have insurance.
While undocumented persons are generally ineligible to obtain Social Security numbers, the IRS has created Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers so that non-citizens can pay taxes on money earned. The majority of returns filed with ITINs, over three million in 2010, are filed by undocumented immigrants. The IRS estimates they pay over $9 billion in payroll taxes annually. In 2010, $12 billion more was collected from Social Security taxes of undocumented workers than were paid out in benefits.
Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for most federal benefits, including Pell grants, student loans, unemployment insurance and Medicaid.
Finally, research has shown that immigrants are much less likely to commit crimes than those born in the U.S.
Carol Cure
Durango
