WASHINGTON, November 21 (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration will boost the US economy by increasing GDP, reducing the deficit, increasing wages and expanding the labor force, the White House press release stated Friday.
"According to an analysis by the [US] President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), the President's executive actions on immigration would boost economic output by an estimated 0.4 to 0.9 percent over ten years, corresponding to increases in GDP of $90 billion to $210 billion in 2024," the press release said.
CEA estimates that the US economy will also grow due to an expansion of the American workforce by nearly 150,000 people over 10 years, according to the release.
Average wages for both immigrant and native workers will rise, the statement said.
"CEA estimates that by 2024 annual wages for native workers will rise 0.3 percent, or approximately $170 in today's dollars," the White House announced.
The US federal deficit will be reduced by $25 billion by 2024 thanks to Obama's executive actions on immigration, while the US tax base will expand "by millions of people and billions of dollars" due to both workers and employers coming out from the shadows. Currently approximately two-thirds of those eligible for the status change don't pay taxes, the release said.
Still "the economic benefits of these actions are not as strong as those under the bipartisan legislation that passed in the Senate," the White House emphasized.
If US Congress passes a bill "like the one passed by the Senate more than a year ago" that would help to fix the whole US immigration system, economic prospects will be even more promising, according to the release.
US GDP would then rise by "3.3 percent in 2023 and 5.4 percent in 2033 — an increase of roughly $700 billion and $1.4 trillion, respectively," and the US federal budget deficit would be reduced by nearly $850 billion over the next 20 years, according to the White House.
In his presidential address to the nation on Thursday night, Obama announced that he would use his executive authority to fix the country's broken immigration system. Up to five million undocumented immigrants will be granted residency permits if they have been living in the country for over five years or have children who are US citizens or legal residents and if they pass a criminal background check.
In total, there are more than 11 million unauthorized immigrants currently living in the United States.
