By Emilie Eaton | Cronkite News Service
Passing an immigration reform plan that provides for a pathway to citizenship could create up to 123,680 jobs and boost the gross domestic product by $10.32 billion by 2014, according to a new study.
The report by Regional Economic Models Inc. predicted that Arizona alone would see 3,254 new jobs and an additional $264 million in economic output by 2014 if a pathway to legal status was established. By 2045, those numbers would rise to 19,731 new jobs and a $1.5 billion boost to the gross state product, the report said.
“It’s showing comprehensive macroeconomic impacts on a state-by-state basis across all industry sectors,” said Frederick Treyz, one of the authors of the study. It was presented Thursday at a Capitol Hill news conference, where a small group of lawmakers and business leaders called for action on immigration reform.
But others charged Thursday that, far from boosting the economy, a pathway to citizenship would actually harm it.
