President Barack Obama tried to save his November 2014 amnesty by showcasing several attractive, college-educated young illegals at a White House event Wednesday.
But the available data suggests the six illegals who met with Obama in the White House are unusually well-educated, and that at least 80 percent are so low-skilled that they will get more in benefits from U.S. taxpayers than they will pay in taxes if they are amnestied.
“I’ve just had a chance to meet with these six wonderful young people who represent the very best that this country has to offer,” Obama told reporters, one day after all 46 Senate Democrats united to block blocked a budget debate over his November amnesty.
GOP leaders are pushing to defund the unpopular amnesty, partly because of pressure from polls and the GOP base.
“I would call on members of Congress to think about all the talent that is already in this country, that is already working in many cases, is already making contributions,” said Obama, whose November amnesty would provide work permits to another five million illegals.
However, only about 10 percent of the younger illegals, dubbed “dreamers” by their advocates, hold four-year college degrees.
The young illegals were children when they were brought into the United States by their foreign parents. Since then, they’ve received a taxpayer-funded education in U.S. schools.
In June 2012, Obama used a Rose Garden speech to announce he would grant work permits to the younger illegals.
The 10 percent estimate is based on a study by the D.C.-based Migration Policy Institute, which favors large-scale immigration.
Roughly 920,000 of the 1.76 million young illegals are old enough to be immediately eligible for the June 2012 “dreamer” amnesty, properly known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, according to the institute’s August 2012 study.
But only 80,000 of the 920,000 eligible young illegals hold four-year college degrees, said the study, which is titled “Relief from Deportation: Demographic Profile of the DREAMers Potentially Eligible under the Deferred Action Policy.”
The number of college graduates is critical because most college graduate pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits, such as schooling, health care and retirement funds.
In contrast, families and households that don’t have college degrees tend to receive more in taxpayer aid than they pay in taxes, according to the Heritage Foundation’s expert on immigration, Robert Rector.
Roughly 40 percent of the illegals, or 350,000, of the young illegals didn’t graduate from high school, said the report by the Migration Policy Institute.
Roughly 35 percent of the illegals, or 350,000 people, only have a high-school certification, the report said.
Roughly 140,000 of the younger illegals were enrolled in a two-year or a four-year college, the report said. The report did not estimate how many of the enrolled students would graduate.
The report also said that another 750,000 young illegals were aged less than 18, but did not estimate how many would graduate from two-year or four-year colleges.
The 12 million illegals now resident in the country tend to be lower-skilled and poor, according to a May 2013 analysis by Rector. Overall, an amnesty for the 12 million would cost $6.3 trillion over the next 50 years, he estimated.
Obama is still trying to win passage of a major immigration rewrite, despite public opposition and the defeat of five pro-amnesty Democratic Senators in the 2014 election.
Only seven percent of Americans want a higher rate of immigration, according to a new Gallup poll.
“I want to be as clear as possible,” Obama told reporters Feb. 4. “I will veto any legislation that got to my desk that took away the chance of these young people who grew up here and who are prepared to contribute to this country that would prevent them from doing so.”
“My strong preference is going to be to pass comprehensive immigration reform. … Let’s move forward with the incredible promise that these young people represent,” he said.