Undocumented contributions
Written by By Angeles Cruz Martinez, according to Jornada Newspaper
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Mexicans contribute $220 billion every year to the American GDP

Mexican undocumented immigrants in the United States represent 16 percent of the work force in this country, and they contribute almost $220 billion to the gross domestic product. Many of them also pay taxes. This was found in a study conducted by the University of California at Berkeley.
The study, coordinated by Xochitl Castaneda, director of the Health Initiative of the Americas at the University, points out that in 2004 alone, Social Security received $63.1 million from those workers. However, many of these contributors don’t receive any benefits from the support programs for the vulnerable population—not even emergency medical services, which they should be obliged to offer.
The investigation clears up myths about the people who leave their native countries in search of the American Dream. It points out that due to the 2008 U.S. presidential elections, the discussion about immigration reform will change, even though the Republican and Democratic candidates have shown a moderate openness towards the initiative.



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The study negates the concept that immigrants are an economic burden on this nation, since 90 percent of them fill a need in the labor force and because they are the foundation of the agricultural construction and services industries.
With regard to health services, the work of the Initiative in that area maintains that immigrants have the right to free health care, but at first they don’t use it because they are “healthierâ€