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President Obama would love to have immigration reform as part ofhis legacy. Republican leaders in Congress want their party to be competitive in the 2016 presidential election and to show they canget things done. So although the odds are odds are steep especially if the presidentsparks the indignation of conservative lawmakersand follows through on his promise to take executive action to remove the threat of deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants our leaders are likely to at least make a serious attempt at putting together a bipartisan, bicameral deal on immigration in 2015. Their starting point will beS.744, the sweeping overhaul of the immigration systemapproved by the Senate on a 68-32 vote on June 27, 2013.

This wide-ranging reform bill is known mostly for its heightened border security, increased requirements for employers to verify the legal status of employees, and the complete revision of pathways to legal status for both currently undocumented and aspiring future immigrants, particularly those who are highly skilled. With all its focus on hot-button issues, sometimes it is forgotten that S.744 is also major deficit reduction legislation. According to theestimates jointly produced by the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation, the bill would generate $158 billion in deficit reduction over 10 years.

Most of the money in the CBO-JCT immigration reform estimate is tax related. The net $158 billion of deficit reduction is a combination of a $456 billion revenue increase offset by $298 billion of increased discretionary spending. (See the figure below.) Refunds of earned income credits, child credits, and premium assistance credits officially scored as discretionary spending account for nearly four-fifths of the estimated spending increase.

S. 744 is not so much a tax increase as it is an increase in the number of taxpayers. According to the official estimates, the legislation will make the U.S. population larger by 9.6 million in 2023. The number of residents with legal status will increase by a total of 16.1 million by 2023.

Three broad shifts in population drive these estimates, as shown in the figure below. The first and the largest is the 12.1 million increase in legal immigrants into the United States. The second is the change of 6.5 million currently unauthorized residents to new legal status that would allow them to work in the United States. The third major shift is a 2.4 million reduction in the net annual inflow of future unauthorized residents.

The vast majority of new revenues come from the first categorynew entrants into the United States. Not only would there be more new immigrants than newly legalized current residents, but new entrants have higher incomes than currently unauthorized residents. Also, many current unauthorized residents about 44 percent, according to the Social Security Administration already pay tax, so from a fiscal perspective there is little gain from their new legal status.

In a new article appearing in the latest issue ofTax Notes, I use two different methods to estimate this distribution of revenue changes attributable to new legal residents and revenue changes attributable to the change in status of unauthorized residents.

The table below summarizes the estimates derived using the two different methods. Using the first method, 86 percent of revenue raised by S.744excluding the effect of refundable creditsis attributable to new immigrants entering the United States. Using the second method, 94 percent of revenue raised, excluding credit refunds, is from new legal immigrants.

Including the effect of refundable credits in the revenue estimate skews the distribution even further toward new immigrants. Under the first method, they account for 94 percent of the revenue net of refundable credits. Under the second method, they account for more than 100 percent because the increase in currently unauthorized residents filing returns actually reduces revenue.

In their efforts to shrug off arguments that granting legal status to unauthorized immigrants isamnesty, proponents of immigration reform stress that the attainment of legal status would be accompanied by the payment of penalties and back taxes. While the payment of fees and back taxes gets a lot of attention in the political debate, it is not significant for the overall fiscal picture.

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Immigration Reform In 2015? We Could Use The Money

U.S. President Barack Obama has been facing the wrath of immigration activists since he announced in September that he would delay plans for executive action on immigration reform until after the midterm elections. Now that the midterms are over, all eyes are back on the presidents immigration agenda, particularly his plans to extend deportation relief to potentially millions of undocumented immigrants.

Deportation deferral for undocumented immigrants is the most-watched item on Obamas list of immigration reform options, with activists pushing for broad and bold measures as soon as possible, and Republican lawmakers sharply critical of what they deem amnesty. But the specific requirements for relief will determine how broad and how bold this move will be.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the White House is considering two main criteria in determining deferred deportation for unauthorized immigrants: length of stay in the U.S. and family ties in the country. Undocumented parents of U.S. citizens, and potentially parents of those who arrived in the U.S. as children and were granted temporary relief, would potentially qualify for protection if they meet a number of other criteria. Depending on the exact requirements that wind up in the final order, this move could provide protection for between 1 million and 4 million immigrants.

By comparison, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, issued by executive order in 2012, has so far provided temporary deportation relief for around 500,000 immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. Analysts estimate that around 11 million unauthorized immigrants are in the country.

Both criteria under consideration -- length of stay and family ties -- are points of concern for some immigration advocates, who say its difficult for an undocumented immigrant to prove how long he or she has been in the country. Activists in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender immigrant community also say that LGBT immigrants have a much harder time establishing formal family ties because of legal constraints. Advocates have also worried that the scope of deportation relief will fall short of their expectations, and some speculate that Obama's moves will be much more modest in the wake of Republican wins in Congress.

While some advocates feared that Obama might again punt on his promises of executive action, White House officials have indicated that he's still on track to announce the orders sometime within the next two months. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters Monday that the Department of Justice had reviewed Obamas list of options for action, and the Department of Homeland Security is also reportedly sending in its final recommendations. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said at a Monday press briefing that Obamas executive action was going to happen before the end of the year.

But its not yet clear when exactly that announcement will come during the two months still left in the year, and the outcry from immigration activists has only gotten louder in the run-up to the midterms. In recent weeks, advocacy groups have heckled both Obama and Hillary Clinton during speeches to demand for swift and broad action on immigration.

Obama is also expected to issue several measures that business groups have been lobbying for, including recapturing unused green cards to reduce current backlogs for legal immigrants awaiting visas. But deportation relief will likely be the most polarizing aspect of Obamas expected executive action.

Republican leaders in Congress have repeatedly warned that unilateral action on immigration will jeopardize comprehensive reform measures in the legislature. Some GOP lawmakers had pledged earlier in the year to move forward on immigration reform in Congress if Republicans won control of the Senate, but Democrats say those prospects are low.

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Immigration Reform 2014: After Midterm Elections, Executive Action Back In The Spotlight

President Obama encouraged lawmakers to act on immigration reform but vowed Wednesday to take action before the end of the year if they delayed.

It is my profound preference and interest to see Congress act on a comprehensive immigration reform bill that can strengthen our borders, and streamline our immigration system, Obama said during a press conference at the White House.

The president said he would reach out to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Democratic leaders on a timetable to act. But he cautioned that he is not going to just wait.

President Obama is weighing executive actions on immigration but GOP senators have warned him against acting unilaterally.

Obama said Boehner had made a sincere effort to get a bill through the House earlier this year but said he would not hesitate to act alone.

I feel obliged to do everything I can under my executive authority to make sure we dont keep on making the system worse, Obama said.

Whatever executive actions that I take will be replaced and supplanted by action by Congress. You send me a bill I can sign those executive actions go away, he added.

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Obama to act on immigration reform before the end of the year

PM said a Tory majority was needed to overhaul Brussels migration rules Mr Cameron has vowed to make immigration centrepiece of EU renegotiation He claimed migrant benefits already cut but admitted further reform 'tough'

By Tom McTague, Deputy Political Editor for MailOnline

Published: 06:02 EST, 5 November 2014 | Updated: 06:02 EST, 5 November 2014

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The Liberal Democrats have stopped the Government from really delivering on immigration reform, David Cameron claimed today.

The Prime Minister said he needed a Tory majority after the next election because he had not been able to go ahead with all the things we wanted to do.

Mr Camerons remarks come after he pledged to make reform of European freedom of movement rules the centrepiece of his Brussels renegotiation if he wins the next election.

David Cameron (centre) with the Tory candidate for Rochester and Strood Kelly Tolhurst (left) were shown around the Crossrail site in Chatham, Kent, by site manager Michael O'Neil yesterday

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We have not been able to 'really deliver' immigration cuts because of the Lib Dems, claims Cameron

Heritage Foundation Panel Discusses Border Control and Immigration Reform Full Version 4/5
Panel criticizes wants immigration laws enforced.

By: Christian Post

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Heritage Foundation Panel Discusses Border Control and Immigration Reform Full Version 4/5 - Video