To the editor: If we use economic activity as the only metric, we get a very distorted picture of the real effects of mass immigration in recent years. (“Why California’s surge in immigration is boosting our economy,” July 31)
Your article mentions “short-term public costs” but completely ignores the long-term effects on the environment and quality of life. While warning Californians that our lifestyle is unsustainable (and that we should give up our gas stoves, our gas cars, our single-family zoning and our environmental regulations on development, and that we should conserve water), your article tells us that bringing more people into the state will boost the economy.
I have lived in California for over 70 years and have seen tremendous economic and population growth, but that has made California a less pleasant place to live. I don't think more immigration will reverse that trend.
John La Grange, Solana Beach
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To the editor: I want to thank The Times for running a positive front-page article on immigration. It highlights the economic benefits that immigrants bring to the United States. Immigrants also contribute to Social Security, which keeps it solvent, and they help reduce inflation.
Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris must embrace immigration and all the benefits it brings to our economy. Human lives are priceless, growth and progress are inevitable, and if we want the economy to keep moving forward, we need those precious lives to meet the demand for jobs. We need immigration reform and immigrants.
As Harris has said, we are not going back.
Anastacio Vigil, Santa Monica
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To the editor: Your article reports that immigration has a net positive effect on U.S. outcomes, but you apparently did not summarize the entire Congressional Budget Office report on which this article is based.
Below is an excerpt from the section of the report titled “The Budgetary Impact of Unauthorized Immigrants”:
“The tax revenues that unauthorized immigrants generate for state and local governments do not offset the full cost of services provided to them. Most estimates found that while unauthorized immigrants pay taxes and other fees to state and local jurisdictions, the resulting revenues offset only a portion of the costs those jurisdictions incur in providing services.”
There’s also this: “Federal aid programs provide resources to state and local governments that provide services to unauthorized immigrants, but those funds do not fully cover the costs incurred by those governments.”
Yes, managed legal immigration can have positive outcomes, but the costs of providing services to millions of unauthorized immigrants must be considered.
Lynn Miller, Pacific Palisades
