Immigration Issues Affecting California and Los Angeles

Social Security No Match Letter Open for Fraud, Letter to U.S. Senate & Congress
Proposed Public Policy Plan for Qualified Worker Verification & Employment
REPORT: Immigration -- Legal & Illegal
Federal Level Public Policy Recommendations
Immigration: Cost vs. Revenue Analysis
Letter to Congressman Brad Sherman

Letter to U.S. Senate and Congress -- Social Security No Match Letter Open for Fraud
Dr. Kevin P. McNamee, DC, L.Ac.
October 29, 2007

Social Security and Homeland Security will be mailing 9 million no match letters to employers who have an employee whose name does not match the social security number. Similar to the real estate fraud method used by illegal immigrants, the same applies to work status – pay for the use of a person’s name and credit history to purchase a home.  Why not do the same for work status in the United States?

Click HERE for entire report

Proposed Public Policy Plan for Qualified Worker Verification and Enforcement
Dr. Kevin P. McNamee, DC, L.Ac.
August 27, 2007

Current employer screening of a prospective employee is the I-9 which requires the employer to make a photocopy of the social security card and the driver's license or U.S. Passport. The error with this verification method of a qualified worker is the fraudulent driver's licenses and/or stolen social security numbers used in the workforce. An employer is not compelled to verify the authenticity of these documents. The result is that some employers knowingly hire illegal alien labor to reduce their costs and increase their profit margins. This situation hurts the qualified, legal and native working poor because the surplus of illegal alien labor drives down wages and increases the unemployment of low skilled, legal workers. It also penalizes lawabiding employers while it rewards the unscrupulous employer. Qualified, legal employees command higher wages, and employers must pay taxes, benefits, insurance associated with payroll expenses.

To address this unfair situation, the employers should be required to contact the Social Security Administration to verify that the applicant's social security number matches the identification provided. This helps ensure these forms of identity have not been stolen or are fraudulent.

Click HERE for entire report
Click HERE for Employer ICE Social Security Steps for Employment chart

Thank you for meeting me last Thursday regarding the immigration public policy recommendations and research data from RAND studies.

The short meeting did not permit my presentation of the Federal Public Policy Recommendation outlined in the report. I have attached a copy of the recommendations for your review. I also have included an analysis of illegal immigrant revenue vs. cost of public service analysis.

From our discussion, it became clear that I did not illustrate the revenue generated from illegal immigrants (Federal and State income tax, sales tax, property tax) will not offset the public service costs, specifically public education, consumed by this population even with inclusion of the “tax” or “penalty fee” suggested by the President.

Click HERE for entire report

Size of current immigration flows and the disproportionate share of poorly educated immigrants within California and Los Angeles combined with changes in California's economy has increased the costs of immigration to the state's public sector and to some native workers.

California's economy has shifted to high-skilled, service and technology industries where employers are seeking a more highly educated work force. The trend is for a widening gap between what the state's economy and public services can provide and what the growing numbers of poorly educated immigrants needed.

Concentration of refugees and other low-income immigrants make heavy use of public services with greatest being the state's public education system. The illegal immigrants characteristically are childbearing age with fertility rates higher than those of the native populations will give rapid increases in the primary and middle school enrollments. The effects of this illegal immigrant population increase on the state's community colleges and universities has not yet been fully felt.

The payment of these social and public programs used by illegal immigrants is by lower levels of government who are principally responsible for public education and police/fire services. The costs shared with the local/state/federal services include health and welfare. Immigration is a federal responsibility but illegal immigration places a disproportionate demand on the state and local governments. It creates an imbalance in cost-sharing between the Federal government, State and Local Governments.

Click HERE for entire report

Encourage Mexico to offer its native Mexican students public education beyond the sixth grade – preferable through the 12th grade. (McNamee, CHI)

A predictor of an individual's economic success is based on the level of education obtained. The more education one obtained, the greater potential for financial achievement and increased revenue to the local and national economy. Currently, the Mexican government offers public education up to the sixth grade. If a child is to continue in school, financial resources must be obtained to pay for private education. This cost usually falls on the parents who, themselves are not financially capable. Sociologically, this has a two-fold effect. Firstly, it perpetuates a low-skill, low-educated and low-income class of people in the Mexican economy. Even if a child has the potential for completing high school and/or college, the lack of economic resources traps the child in a low-skill, low-wage job with few prospects. Secondly, this low level education provides a continued supply of low-cost labor to the Mexican economy however, manufacturing in Mexico has moved out of the country and has left many in its country without jobs thus the move to the United States to seek employment and free public services such as education, health and welfare.

Click HERE for entire report

During the 1990's, the numbers of immigrants entering the United States rivaled that of the early 1900's when immigration was at its peak. Today's immigrants are concentrated in a few states: specifically, California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas. California is home to one-third of the country's immigrants. The immigrants are mainly in large metropolitan areas, namely Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Chicago.

The scale of immigration into California is unequaled anywhere else in the United States. Between 1960 and 1995, California's number of immigrants increased more than six-fold, from 1.3 to 8.0 million. About half of the immigrants in California are primarily from Mexico and Central America with about one-third from Asia. California's residents comprise 25 percent immigrants with most found in Southern California and mainly in Los Angeles which is 45 percent of the city's population, or 2 of every 5 residents.

Click HERE for entire report

All articles are published and copyrighted by Kevin P. McNamee, D.C., L.Ac.
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