Economics
Immigration Reform Now a Matter of “How”
There are plenty of genuine issues worthy of debate in immigration reform—how to really create secure borders and communities, how to predict and manage future immigration flows, how to implement a fair and workable employment verification system, and how to ensure that legal immigration incorporates key values represented by family and work. But what is no longer on the table is whether we should be doing immigration reform, particularly legalization of the undocumented. Yesterday’s release of the IPC/CAP report finally puts to rest the question of whether immigration reform is good for the country. The answer—a resounding “Yes!” Read More
Restrictionists Build Anti-Immigrant Agenda on Backs of American Workers
While perpetuators of the myth that “immigrants take jobs away from hard working Americans” are busy exploiting both immigrants and native-born workers, a new report by America’s Voice Education Fund shines a much needed light on the restrictionist lobby’s real agenda—deportation at any cost. Released last week, the report takes a closer look at the “anti-worker” voting records of supposedly “pro-worker” Congressional Members who, “aided by a shadow coalition of groups with an anti-immigrant agenda,” have consistently built a “deport them all” agenda on the backs of American workers. Read More
Nativist Group Discovers Unemployment is High
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has made the rather un-astounding discovery that unemployment in the recession-plagued U.S. economy is high, especially among less-educated workers. In a new report, entitled A Huge Pool of Potential Workers, CIS dissects the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers on unemployment and underemployment among the native-born, and notes that there are between seven and eight million unauthorized immigrants currently working in the United States. The report then makes the casual claim that “if the United States were to enforce immigration laws and encourage illegal immigrants to return to their home countries, we would seem to have an adequate supply of less-educated natives to replace these workers.” What the CIS report fails to mention is that the costly and destructive measures which have been proposed to “encourage” unauthorized workers to leave the country have yet to work and adversely affect native-born workers; that many unemployed natives would have to travel half way across the country to reach the low-wage jobs formerly held by unauthorized immigrants; that removing unauthorized workers from the country also means removing unauthorized consumers and the jobs they support through their purchasing power; and that none of this would aid the nation’s long-term economic recovery. Read More
New Report Shines Light on the Economics of Illegal Immigration
Today the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) held an event aimed at dispelling some of the most common myths about illegal immigrants and the U.S. economy and making the case that enforcement-only policies are not cost effective. MPI also released The Economics and Policy of Illegal Immigration in the United States, written by Gordon Hanson, a professor of economics at UC-San Diego. Read More
Post Postville, Immigrants Still Vital to Iowa’s Economy
Postville, Iowa—home to one of the largest immigration raids in U.S. history—made headlines again this month when Sholom Rubashkin, owner of Agriprocessors Inc., was convicted of “all but five of the 91 business fraud charges listed in a 163-count indictment.” Although the 72 immigration charges were dropped (since they would have little impact on his final sentence), Rubashkin still faces a total maximum sentence of up to 1,255 years, according to the Des Moines Register. Justice served? Perhaps. But the people of Postville may have a different take on “justice” given the current state of Postville’s crippled economy—an economy that once, like many across the U.S. currently do, depended on immigrants. Read More
Republican Playbook on Immigration Debate Long on Emotions, Short on Facts
Senate Republicans have “thoughtfully’ provided immigration advocates with their strategy for opposing immigration reform in 2010, courtesy of a letter sent to Secretary Napolitano protesting her recent statements that immigration reform is both necessary for DHS to do its job and good for the economy. The letter, signed by twelve Republicans— including Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Charles Grassley of Iowa, and Jeff Sessions of Alabama—was described by Sen. Hatch’s press statement as “taking Napolitano to task” for her remarks. It’s a playbook for the coming year, showing how to make points that are long on emotion and short on facts. Read More
Secretary Napolitano Makes First Speech on Immigration Reform
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s speech today at the Center for American Progress (CAP) will probably be remembered as a key moment in the history of immigration reform. The Secretary not only expressed support for a comprehensive overhaul of our immigration system, she also made it clear that it is an imperative for the ultimate security of the United States. Read More
Would Mass Deportation Mean More Jobs for U.S. Workers?
As the U.S. experiences its highest unemployment levels in a generation and news reports document the desperation of some native-born workers who are unable to find steady work, we must ask the question whether now is really the best time to implement a legalization program. Basic math would suggest that 16 million unemployed American workers would benefit from subtracting 12 million undocumented workers from the labor force. However, it isn’t that easy. Mass deportation is no silver bullet for solving our unemployment problem. Our economic and unemployment issues are not a matter of simple math or a zero sum game. In reality, American workers and recent immigrants workers are not easily interchangeable and removing millions of workers and consumers from our fragile economy would only make matters worse. Read More
Help Wanted: Broken Immigration Policies Equal Broken Government Responses
This past week, ImmigrationImpact highlighted aspects of a recent Immigration Policy Center (IPC) report, Breaking Down the Problems, What’s Wrong With our Immigration System?. The report highlights the problems faced by American families, businesses, and workers, all caught in a broken immigration system. But the report also addresses the long-term effect of our broken immigration laws on government. Put simply, broken laws equal broken government. Read More
Risky Business: Our Broken Employment–Based Immigration System Jeopardizes the American Economy
BY CHARLES H. KUCK* Does Congress's continued failure to fix our broken employment-based immigration system jeopardize our economy, now and in the future? Yes, it does. If we don't have enough employment-based immigrant visas, the best and brightest from around the world will start going somewhere else. We are not only a nation of immigrants; we are a nation of successful immigrants. We attract those who are willing to work hard, better themselves, and strive for success. However, our legal immigration system has made the process of immigration to the United States so difficult, so full of uncertainty, and so lengthy, that folks are now choosing not to come. Read More
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