CBO Estimate Shows Benefits and Need for Real Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 3, 2013 — Today, the Congressional Budget Office released an updated estimate of how the Senate immigration bill (S. 744) will affect flows of illegal immigration. The report concluded “the net inflow would be reduced by between one third and one-half compared with the projected net inflow under current law.”

David Bier, Immigration Policy Analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, called the news progress, but offered two suggestions to further improve illegal immigration. “First, this report shows why Congress should create a system that automatically increases the number of guest work visas in any year in which border crossings increase,” Bier said. “More legal immigration will take pressure off the border and make other amnesties unnecessary.

“Second, to prevent individuals from overstaying their visas, Congress should scrap time-restricted work visas and move to a system where the IRS withholds a certain percentage of guest workers’ wages until they either naturalize or return home. This report shows how fewer restrictions and more legal immigration is necessary to end illegal immigration.”