Economic Impacts of Illegal Immigration within California

The California Research Bureau estimates that, in 2005, 14% of the Californian population was composed of undocumented immigrants; this large population has undoubtedly had a tremendous impact on the state’s economy. Within the business and labor sector illegal immigrants provide a powerful labor base, spurring the longevity and growth of a variety of industries. However, the presence of illegal immigration has simultaneously highlighted many of the inadequacies within the healthcare and education systems, further aggravating existing problems.

It is evident that undocumented immigrants are tremendous contributors to the vitality of the Californian economy. Agricultural, construction and service industries are powered primarily by low-wage immigrant laborers. Since such labor-intensive jobs are in low demand among the native (generally, more highly educated) population, immigrants ensure the stability of these businesses, while allowing citizens to climb socio-economic ladders. Likewise, this significantly large sub-culture provides an extensive market for local products: illegal immigrants are estimated to have a purchasing power of $51 million; the native population contributes $57 million. Further, despite their illegal status, factions of this community inevitably contribute to state and federal taxes.

One of the significant negative repercussions presented by the large number of illegal immigrants is the burden it places on the health care system. Over half of all undocumented workers are uninsured, and use of emergency-room facilities by uninsured patients has led to a massive increase in uncompensated hospital costs. Current legislation legally binds hospitals to treat all patients in emergency situations; such legislation, however is severely under funded, such that, in last five years, more than 84 California hospitals have been forced to shut down due to financial strain.

Over 15 % of students enrolled in the California public school system are children of undocumented immigrants, members of society who, for the most part, do not contribute to public school funding through tax payments. Yet it is the golden state—with its budget deficit of over $2.2 billion—that must rise to the challenge of educating its ever- increasing population. This is an especially difficult challenge, considering the average cost of a yearly K-12 education is $7,200. Currently only a minority of tax-paying citizens are paying enough into the system to support the continual and effective education of our students. Such shortages have led to cuts in many programs accelerating learning (most significantly English as a Second Language). In addition the current No Child Left Behind Act presents a hurdle to urban, low-performing schools by denying financial aid to schools with the highest need.

While the strong presence of illegal immigration has significant drawbacks, detailed research reveals it alone cannot account for the persistent failures within the healthcare and educational systems. Current tax payments cannot efficiently sustain these systems for legal Californians, much less a large illegal population. Thus, it is absolutely necessary to increase state taxes, reassess and proficiently reallocate funds. Likewise it is necessary to decentralize the No Child Left Behind Act, and restrict access to excessive emergency room spending by redefining absolute emergencies. In order to moderate immigrant populations the best solution is the expansion of the Guest Worker Program, which provides much needed laborers with work, while taxing earnings in order to channel funds into health and educational services, thus bettering the quality of life for all members of society.