Sun, May 11 2008
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Published March 25, 2008 11:52 pm - OKLAHOMA CITY — A new study estimates that Oklahoma’s anti-illegal immigration law will cause $1.8 billion in economic losses as foreign-born workers flee the state. Oklahoma: Study says anti-immigrant bill to cost state $1.8 billion
The Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY — A new study estimates that Oklahoma’s anti-illegal immigration law will cause $1.8 billion in economic losses as foreign-born workers flee the state. The projection is based on 50,000 workers, both documented and undocumented, leaving Oklahoma, causing a 1.3 percent reduction in the gross state product. The Oklahoma Bankers Association said it has no stand on the immigration measure, but commissioned the study after reports from banks of problems incurred by companies that employ immigrant workers. One restaurant that had been making regular monthly loan payments of about $5,000 went into default and closed its doors, construction projects in eastern Oklahoma were delayed because of a lack of workers and farm workers disappeared in the southwest part of the state, said Roger Beverage, chief operating office of the bankers’ group. Oklahoma’s House Bill 1804, written by Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, took effect Nov. 1, preventing undocumented immigrants from obtaining driver’s licenses and public services. It criminalized transporting, concealing or harboring them, and eventually will require employers to check immigration status of prospective employees through an online federal program. State lawmakers around the country are proposing hundreds of bills this year aimed at curbing illegal immigration, including lawmakers in at least eight states sponsoring legislation similar to Oklahoma’s. While the OBA took no position on the Oklahoma measure’s social policy, “bankers do have concerns about unintended consequences that have come as a result of the bill,” said Don Abernathy, chairman of the association. “That’s the reason we decided to commission this study, to better understand the facts and get a better handle on the costs to the state’s economy and to bank customers,” he said. The study, by the Economic Impact Group of Edmond, Okla., was based on Oklahoma having a total foreign-born population of 111,000 to 175,000, with an estimated 50,000 to 75,000 being undocumented workers, mainly from Mexico. The state has an overall population of 3.5 million. According to officials who conducted the study, Oklahoma’s economic losses will build over the next few years, before a slight recovery in the state gross product as new workers move into the state. The long-term cost is projected to be $1.3 million annually, said EIG official Russell Evans. “The impact really transcends income groups,” affecting lowly skilled, highly skilled and professional workers alike due to the loss of economic activity, Evans said. 
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