New report outlines failures and problems of previous immigration amnesties

Santa Barbara, CA – September 07, 2010 – The basic problem with amnesty or legalization plans to address the problem of illegal immigration is that they do not work, according to a new analysis from the nonprofit group, Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS).

No Home for Amnesty in a Sustainable America, authored by CAPS Senior Writing Fellow Maria Fotopoulos, found that amnesty legislation typically awards legal status to a much larger populace than the original estimates. The 1986 amnesty bill, together with follow-up legislation, allowed the naturalization of over 3 million illegal aliens instead of the initial estimates of one million.

“This is our concern. The United States cannot continue to absorb unlimited numbers of people,” said Marilyn DeYoung, Chairman of the Board of CAPS.

Because of immigration, the decade starting in 1990 saw the biggest population increase of any prior 10-year period in U.S. history. If the Census Bureau high-level projections are realized, the U.S. population may be over 1 billion by 2100.

Among the findings of the report:

• Since the 1986 bill, Congress has enacted an additional six amnesties, awarding the gift of U.S. citizenship to a total of 5.7 million people.
• Amnesty legislation increases the flow of illegal immigration since new illegal entrants believe they will eventually receive legal status.
• Due to massive illegal immigration, California is now the least-educated state in the union in terms of the share of its workers who have completed high school.

“Amnesty legislation has not worked in the past, nor will it in the future—even if it is disguised under the rubric of ‘comprehensive immigration reform.’ America simply cannot grow on like this, and voters will have a hard time understanding how we can deter illegal behavior by rewarding illegal behavior,” stated DeYoung.