Super Committee Should Consider Immigration Reform

Although comprehensive immigration reform is not among the deficit reduction options on the table, the super committee should still consider it.

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Idea of the Day

Idea of the Day

All eyes in Washington these days are on the new congressional super committee. The 12 members from both parties in both chambers of Congress have been assigned the task of developing a plan to reduce the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next decade or risk setting off deficit-cutting triggers that will force sharp cuts to both defense and domestic spending.

There are many ways the members of this committee can reach the $1.5 trillion target between now and their Thanksgiving week deadline. We at the Center for American Progress understand that comprehensive immigration reform is not among the deficit reduction options on the table but want to urge the super committee to consider it. Comprehensive immigration reform is one key to boosting economic growth and thus helping to solve our nation’s fiscal problems.

For more on this topic, please see:

10 Reasons Why Immigration Reform Is Important to Our Fiscal Health by Angela Maria Kelley and Philip E. Wolgin

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