League of Women Voters of Maryland

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I am testifying today on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Maryland. For the past year, local Leagues in Maryland and around the country have been involved in a study of immigration issues. Our members have found immigration to be an extremely complex and multi-faceted issue, defying simple solutions. If the Maryland legislature chooses to create a task force to study the cost of unauthorized immigrants, we urge you to gather balanced information including the contributions such immigrants make to our economy and our communities, not just the cost of any services they might receive. Just as no family budget that listed only expenses would provide a useful picture of that family’s economic status, no consideration of the effect of unauthorized immigrants on the economy of Maryland would be valid if it considered expenses only and ignored contributions. How many of you would choose to invest in a business if its annual report showed only expenses? We suggest that, if the committee decides to form this task force, the title of the task force and the bill be changed to Task Force to Study the Net Costs or Contributions of Unauthorized Immigrants in Maryland, and that the test of the bill be edited to include a study of the fiscal benefits that accrue to the state from the economic stimulus of the labor of these immigrants, and the sales tax, income tax and other taxes paid by these individuals. In addition, we suggest that section (f) (2) be changed to read “make recommendations to the Legislature regarding the findings documented by the Task Force.” Within the past few years, a number of states have done similar studies, and in each case where both contributions to the economy and costs to the state have been examined, they have found to their great surprise that contributions far outweigh costs. The study done for the State of North Carolina by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a prime example. That study concluded that the cost to the state of each immigrant was $102 per year, while the benefit to the economy from immigrant labor was in the magnitude of $9 billion. If any of you are interested in reading that report, I can provide you with the url: http:/www.kenan-flager.unc.edu/ki/reports/2006_HispanicStudy/ The results of such a balanced study in Maryland could be very different, or they could affirm what other states have found. But at any rate, a study that examines both costs and contributions will provide the Legislature and the residents of Maryland with a much more complete and accurate assessment of the impact of unauthorized immigrants in the State. Thank you for your attention and your consideration.

References

Bill: 

SB 52 Task Force to Study the Cost of Illegal Aliens in Maryland