Amnesty For Immigrants Spurs Greater U.S. Employment

Another Reason Why Legalizing Undocumented Immigrants' Status Makes Sense
Luis Rosales of El Paso, Texas, chants as he marches to the Capitol in Austin, Texas, during the Texans Demand Immigration Reform march and rally on Friday Feb. 22, 2013. Hundreds of people from all over Texas attended the rally to show their support for immigration reform. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; INTERNET AND TV MUST CREDIT PHOTOGRAPHER AND STATESMAN.COM
Luis Rosales of El Paso, Texas, chants as he marches to the Capitol in Austin, Texas, during the Texans Demand Immigration Reform march and rally on Friday Feb. 22, 2013. Hundreds of people from all over Texas attended the rally to show their support for immigration reform. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; INTERNET AND TV MUST CREDIT PHOTOGRAPHER AND STATESMAN.COM

Alejandrino Honorato's journey began with a smuggler who led him across the Rio Grande, into the Texas desert with little food or water and finally to a field where he picked tobacco to pay his passage. Living illegally in a labor camp, he didn't know lawmakers in Washington were deciding his future.

It was 1986 and Congress was weighing an amnesty plan to legalize millions of undocumented workers. Unemployment was 7 percent. Some lawmakers warned the change would overwhelm the economy and strain hospitals and schools. "Are we going to cause havoc?" said Representative Bill McCollum, a Florida Republican, as the House prepared to vote.

The bill became law and Honorato came out of the shadows. Today, he owns two eateries and a market in central Florida and has about 60 employees. "I've helped a lot of people work," Honorato, 49, said through a translator. "If people were legalized they'd have a chance to open businesses like me."

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