Letter: The Path to Legalization

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"Being Legal Doesn't End Poverty" (Sunday Review, July 21) accurately argues that legalizing unauthorized immigrants may not be a surefire ticket to improving their wages, if they are employed in the cash-only economy.

But remaining in the informal economy will carry heavy penalties for immigrants who might qualify for legalization. Under the proposed Senate bill, applicants must demonstrate that they have been employed continuously in the United States, except for brief periods lasting not more than 60 days, to maintain their provisional legal status and transition to a green card.

Alternatively, applicants can demonstrate that they have an average income at least 125 percent of the federal poverty level throughout the legalization process. Obtaining the documentation for meeting these continuous employment and income requirements will be virtually impossible for immigrants in the cash economy. They have a powerful incentive to seek more stable jobs in which they are not paid exclusively in cash.

If their path to formal-sector employment is blocked by lack of legal status, then undocumented workers are truly facing a Catch-22.

WAYNE A. CORNELIUS
La Jolla, Calif., July 21, 2013

The writer is director, Mexican Migration Field Research Program, University of California, San Diego.

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