Today's Senate vote on immigration could be non-event

House Republicans have made it clear that they do not intend to consider the Senate bill - that whatever action they take, if any, will be their own. That could be a problem, considering their proposals are far less sweeping than what's contained in the Senate package. This is more a story about politics than economics - most studies conclude that immigration reform would help lower the deficit and grow the economy (albeit modestly). In L.A., the value of recently arrived immigrants is well established, as I bring up in this week's Business Update on KPCC:

Mark Lacter: The Congressional Budget Office says that immigration reform will reduce the federal deficit by $175 billion over the next 10 years - that's from additional tax revenue and that's enough to offset additional spending for things like tax credits and Medicaid. Frankly, the question is less about economic benefits for the nation than it is about benefits for undocumented workers. You know, 20 or 30 years ago an immigrant with limited educational skills could come into this country, this area, and still have opportunities to move up the economic ladder, to buy a home, to send his kids to college.

Steve Julian: Sure, L.A. had lots of higher-paying manufacturing and construction jobs that formed the basis of a middle class workforce.

Lacter: Well, many of those jobs no longer exist. The recession was a killer in that regard, but it was happening even before the downturn. So, what you have are lots of recent arrivals who remain stuck with low-wage jobs and modest educations (you should know that almost half of all undocumented immigrants have either no school at all or less than a high school education).

Julian: Does that explain why the numbers of people entering this country actually have been slowing?

Lacter: That's part of it. Now, if you're looking for legislation that would be worthwhile for the economy, there's the Dream Act, which would give legal status to immigrants who were brought into this country before they turned 16. These are people who are in the sweet spot of their career development, but House Republicans are so opposed that they recently blocked efforts by the Obama administration to keep these people in the U.S. on a temporary basis. Again, these are not economic issues - they're political, cultural, and social issues. But, if you're the owner or potential employee of a business, it doesn't much matter - it's still hitting you hard.