Immigration

Senate Bill 11-126
Testimony to the House Education Committee
Frank Waterous, Senior Policy Analyst
April 25, 2011

My name is Frank Waterous, and I am a senior policy analyst with The Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and policy organization dedicated to expanding opportunity for all Coloradans.

Colorado's undocumented immigrants pay as much in taxes as they consume in mandated social services, according to a study Friday from The Bell Policy Center.

The state's estimated 180,000 undocumented immigrants paid $167.5 million in taxes in 2010, the Denver nonprofit's study said.

The largest share came from sales taxes - $114.6 million - with another $30.9 million paid in income taxes and $22 million in property taxes covered mostly through rent payments.

Big Government backers, The Bell Policy Center, have come out with what we first thought was a weeks-late April Fools joke, but instead appears to be a sad attempt to claim illegal immigration is in fact a net positive for Colorado's economy and taxpayers.

"New research shows that undocumented immigrants in Colorado are a significant contributor to the state's economy and that undocumented immigrants contribute as much in sales, property and income taxes as they cost in K-12 education and other mandated services."

New research shows that undocumented immigrants in Colorado are a significant contributor to the state's economy and that undocumented immigrants contribute as much in sales, property and income taxes as they cost in K-12 education and other mandated services.

The population of undocumented immigrants in Colorado has declined in recent years, tracking the downturn in the economy, but the debate over immigration has only grown more heated. Some of the heat generated in that debate comes from claims that undocumented immigrants take jobs and overburden state resources.

Click on the link below for the Bell's 2011 analysis of taxes paid by undocumented immigrants and the cost of providing federally mandated services.

Companion research by the Colorado Center on Law and Policy on role played by undocumented immigrants in the state's economy.

Senate Bill 11-126
Testimony to the Senate Finance Committee
Rich Jones, Director of Policy and Research
Feb. 22, 2011

My name is Rich Jones, and I am the Director of Policy and Research with The Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a non-partisan, non-profit research and policy organization dedicated to expanding opportunity for all Coloradans.

Senate Bill 11-126
Testimony to the Senate Education Committee
Frank Waterous, Senior Policy Analyst
February 17, 2011

My name is Frank Waterous, and I am a senior policy analyst with The Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and policy organization dedicated to expanding opportunity for all Coloradans.

By Julia Preston
The New York Times

ST. LOUIS – After a career as a corporate executive with her name in brass on the office door, Amparo Kollman-Moore, an immigrant from Colombia, likes to drive a Jaguar and shop at Saks. "It was a good life," she said, "a really good ride."

By Joseph Boven
The Colorado Independent
Oct. 29, 2009

Ordinarily, the Bell Policy Center does not take positions on local ballot measures, but last year we weighed in on Denver's Initiative 100 because we felt it was bad policy. More than that, we felt it was racially motivated.

Initiative 100 passed, but backers decided it didn't have "teeth,'' so they are back with Initiative 300. Denver residents are being asked to approve a costly measure that would require police to impound the vehicles of drivers who cannot immediately produce a driver's license.