In the Spotlight: Immigration reform is win-win proposition

During their meeting last week, President Obama and Gov. Janice Brewer of Arizona agreed to disagree about Arizona's controversial immigration law. But there may be issues, from basic values to bread-and-butter economics, where Americans can find common ground on immigration.

Nearly everyone agrees the current system is badly broken and serves no one well, whether native-born or immigrant, documented or undocumented. In fact, the only real beneficiaries of the status quo are unscrupulous employers looking to hire workers whom they can exploit and underpay.

With common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform, more immigrants will be able to contribute to this country, promoting an economic recovery in which every American can share.

After all, immigrants do their part - and then some - to fortify the economy by generating jobs and contributing to tax revenues. As the President's Council of Economic Advisers has reported, immigrants pump at least $37 billion a year into the economy, to the benefit of native-born Americans and newcomers alike. Foreign-born Americans account for one in 10 self-employed business people, and these businesses will be part of the engine of our economic recovery.

But what about unauthorized immigrants? This much is known: They come here to work hard and participate in the economy. Undocumented men have the nation's highest workforce participation rate: 94 percent are working or looking for jobs, compared to only 83 percent of native-born men. The large majority of undocumented workers pay taxes: the Social Security Administration estimates that three-quarters of unauthorized immigrants pay payroll taxes, even though they aren't eligible for Social Security.

The real problem is that it's almost impossible for most undocumented workers who have lived, worked and paid taxes in this country to become legal. Sensible, workable immigration reform would provide a system for these workers to comply with the law and regularize their status.

Fixing the broken system will help all working Americans, especially those whose wages are driven down by employers exploiting undocumented workers. Because undocumented workers currently live and work in the shadows, they too

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