Path to citizenship is good for America

Dear Editor, Illegal immigrants do not represent an assault on our sovereignty. If that were true, it would be the first time in world history that a country employed its invaders.

According to reputable economists, a path to citizenship for over 11 million illegal immigrants would ensure that our economy would continue to grow.

Voters need to realize that immigration reform should be based upon the views of economists and nonpartisan academic researchers, and not partisan propagandists. Comprehensive immigration reform would level the playing field so that American workers wouldn’t be taken advantage of, by undocumented workers, who are being exploited by employers.

Millions of undocumented people are contributing to our economy and paying $12 billion a year into Social Security. By passing immigration reform, our government would stimulate new income, that would continue to grow our economy. The chief actuary of the Social Security Administration reports that undocumented workers contributed nearly $300 billion to the Social Security Trust Fund.

Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz noted: “Alexis de Tocqueville described what he saw as a chief part of the peculiar genius of American society, something he called ‘self-interest properly understood.’ The last two words were the key. Everyone possesses selfinterest in a narrow sense: I want what’s good for me right now! Self-interest ‘properly understood’ is different. It means appreciating that paying attention to everyone else’s self-interest — in other words, the common welfare — is in fact a precondition for one’s own ultimate well-being. Tocqueville was not suggesting that there was anything noble or idealistic about this outlook — in fact, he was suggesting the opposite. It was a mark of American pragmatism. Those canny Americans understood a basic fact: looking out for the other guy isn’t just good for the soul — it’s good for business.”

Jim O’Leary Delhi