November 21, 2014. Fox Business News reports on the economic impacts of the president’s immigration action, quoting the Fiscal Policy Institute:
On economic impact:
At the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute , Director of Immigration Law and Policy Research Daniel Costa argued that the plan would actually be good for low-wage U.S. workers and small businesses.
“Businesses should like it. Those who are paying minimum wage won’t have to compete with those paying less than minimum wage, or who are not paying overtime to unauthorized workers,” Costa said.
The Fiscal Policy Institute’s Immigration Research Initiative Director David Kallick agrees.
“It means that it can be harder for employers to pay [immigrants] lower wages and take advantage. It’s good for them but also good for U.S. workers who are standing next to them,” he said.
And, on fiscal impact:
While Kallick said the plan “can only have positive impacts on the economy,” he said it is difficult to assess what temporary relief could mean in terms of tax collection and for the deficit.
“The [Congressional Budget Office] estimated there would be a $158 billion decrease in the deficit for comprehensive reform,” Kallick said. “If Congress would pass full reform, this is the level of impact we’d see. This is significantly less than that.”
However, Kallick gave a ballpark figure, estimating that on the state and local level, authorizing these immigrants would mean an additional $1 billion in taxes.