( CNN ) -- Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle says in a campaign ad that Democratic incumbent Harry Reid is the `` best friend an illegal alien ever had . '' According to her , he tolerates illegal people `` sneaking '' across the border and receiving `` illegal Social Security benefits . '' One Democratic commercial is n't much better . Rep. Walt Minnick of Idaho has a spot accusing his opponent , Raul Labrador , of helping illegal immigrants stay in the United States and running a website offering advice on how to seek amnesty . Not to be outdone , Delaware GOP candidate Christine O'Donnell calls for `` closing the border . '' She argues we need to stop illegal border crossings before any other legislative action is taken on immigration . Explainer : Illegal immigration 101 . These and other appeals heard on the campaign trail this year are inflammatory and move the immigration issue in the wrong direction . They are based on erroneous assumptions and misguided arguments . These claims play to popular fears and emotions rather than reasoned debate over the controversy . Similar to the views of many Americans , candidates are exaggerating the cost of immigration and underestimating its benefits . Critics assume we can solve the illegal immigration problem through strict law enforcement and putting more money into border protection . Spending on customs and border security rose from $ 7.4 billion in 2002 to $ 17 billion so far in 2010 , according to the Department of Homeland Security , yet we still have more than 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States . Part of the misunderstanding is that 40 percent of those folks are here not through illegal border crossings but from overstaying visas . They came to America through lawful means , but did n't leave when their visas ran out . Half arrived before 2000 , according to research by the Pew Hispanic Center , so tougher border enforcement will not eliminate undocumented visitors . Click for more commentary on timely topics . In terms of the drain on government resources , skeptics fail to understand that many illegal immigrants actually pay taxes . They incur sales taxes on purchases , property taxes when they rent or buy homes , income taxes when they are employed , and Social Security payments for jobs . A study by the Social Security Administration , for example , found that undocumented immigrants have contributed an estimated $ 120 billion to $ 240 billion to the Social Security trust fund , even though they are ineligible to receive Social Security benefits . Research by the George W. Bush Council for Economic Advisors estimated that immigrants contributed $ 37 billion annually to the country 's overall economic activity . American cities with the biggest increases in numbers of immigrant workers also have the fastest growing economies . Rather than a drag on economic growth and job creation , as is commonly thought , immigrants help spur economic growth through employment , tax payments and consumer purchases . Immigrants are vital to American innovation and entrepreneurship . They perform jobs in agriculture , hotels , restaurants and constructions that many Americans do n't want . At the high-skilled end , they set up businesses and create high-paying jobs . One quarter of the technology and engineering businesses launched in America between 1995 and 2005 had an immigrant founder . In Silicon Valley , that number was 52.4 percent . These are not isolated stories . Google , Yahoo , eBay , and Intel are among the companies with immigrant founders or co-founders . Where would the U.S. economy be if Google were based in Russia , Yahoo in Taiwan , eBay in France , and Intel in Hungary ? There would be far fewer jobs and much less technology innovation in the United States . To be sure , these ventures have come through the efforts of legal , and not illegal , immigrants . But , some of the crackdowns on undocumented workers , such as the Arizona law , create a chilled climate for those here illegally , possibly persuading other immigrants to take their energy and innovation to other countries . It is time for candidates and political leaders to tell the real story about immigration . Even though illegal immigrants enrage many Americans , it would be prohibitively expensive to deport 11 million people . As a vivid illustration of this point , the Center for American Progress found that mass deportations would cost $ 285 billion over five years , or an average of $ 900 for every American . If people actually are worried about government cost , they should support the creation of a pathway to citizenship based on paying back taxes , learning English and collection of a serious fine for illegal entry . Experts say that a full path to legalization would add $ 1.5 trillion to the American economy over the next decade . It would be cheaper to legalize illegal immigrants than keep them underground and outside the mainstream economy . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Darrell M. West .
Darrell West : Campaign ads appeal to fears on immigration and spread bad information . Illegal immigrants pay taxes , give billions to Social Security but never get benefits , he writes . West notes the cost of deporting the 11 million illegal immigrants would be astronomical . Path to citizenship would add $ 1.5 trillion to the U.S. economy over 10 years , he says .