Study says illegal immigration may help, hurt

Tennessean.com
August 11, 2007

Tennessee can do little to curb illegal immigration and its costs beyond urging the federal government to enforce its laws and fund the programs it requires state and local government to provide, according to a new report from the state comptroller's office.

The study also concludes that illegal immigrants probably have an overall positive impact on the state's economy — although they may have a negative impact on local economies in the cities where they are heavily concentrated.

Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said the report does not say anything lawmakers didn't already know, but he objected to the way it downplayed the problems of illegal immigration. He drafted legislation that passed last session authorizing the Highway Patrol to receive training in federal immigration law.

"(The report) continues to dumb down the importance of citizenship in this country," he said.

While his office does many of its studies at the request of lawmakers, Comptroller John Morgan was the one who decided his office needed to research immigration. As the report states: "Complete and accurate information appears to be missing from many discussions of these issues."