Revitalizing the Golden State: What Legalization Over Deportation Could Mean to California and Los Angeles County

Today, the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) and the Center for America Progress (CAP) release "Revitalizing the Golden State: What Legalization Over Deportation Could Mean to California and Los Angeles County," by Dr. Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda and Marshall Fitz. This report looks at the likely economic impact on California and Los Angeles County of deportation-only policies that would drive unauthorized immigrants from the state. The report compares that scenario to the economic gains which would result from a program that would allow unauthorized immigrants to attain legal status. The analysis finds that the economic and fiscal consequences of widespread deportation for California and Los Angeles County would be devastating given the number of jobs which are supported through the labor, consumption, and tax payments of unauthorized immigrants.

The IPC and CAP recently released a similar report which focused on Arizona. The analysis in today's report finds that the economic and fiscal consequences of widespread deportation for California and Los Angeles County would be even more devastating than in Arizona. Our analysis demonstrates unequivocally that unauthorized immigrants don’t simply “fill” jobs—they create jobs. Through the work they perform, the money they spend, and the taxes they pay, unauthorized immigrants sustain the jobs of many other workers in the U.S. economy, immigrants and native-born alike.

KJ