Massachusetts residents remember last year's debate in a southern state over one of the harshest immigration laws passed in America. A university study examined the economic damage expected with a law that allows police to detain anyone suspected of being an undocumented immigrant.

For immigrants who cannot produce proof of legal U.S. residency, the strict state rule often is not worth the risk of staying in the state. Many immigrants without work visas or residency documents are leaving, either to return to a home country or move to a state with fewer legal limitations.

According to the newly-released economic research, Alabama stands to lose between $2.3 and $10.8 billion as immigrant workers abandon an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 jobs.

The study projects losses of more than $264 million in sales and income tax revenue and an additional forfeit of $93 million in county and local taxes. Researchers compiled income statistics based on a salary range of $15,000 to $35,000. Individual salaries for all workers in the state average around $40,000.

Proponents contend that the law would create more jobs for legal residents. They assert the law would save the state as much as $280 million in education and health expenses believed to be spent on undocumented immigrants. One of the stipulations of the original state law, blocked by a federal appeals court, would have forced public schools to monitor the immigration status of students.

The new study points out that the law's promoters do not consider that undocumented immigrant workers pay taxes or contribute to the state's overall economy, which of course many undocumented immigrants do.

Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security believe that up to two-thirds of an estimated 120,000 undocumented immigrants residing in the state will leave. The new study indicates that, other than depriving the state of needed workers, the immigrants' departure also will negatively affect the state's economic health.

Source: Reuters, "Alabama immigration crackdown costing state billions: study," Verna Gates, Feb.1, 2012