Liberal Voice Laments Mass Immigration’s Inequitable Impact on the Labor Market
WASHINGTON, DC (August 21, 2013) — An internationally recognized authority on immigration policy and a Fellow of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), Mr. David North, argues in a new video that the United States immigration policy is “tilted against the people at the bottom of the American labor market.”
The Democrats’ tendency towards “third world identification, ethnic identification, and political gratification” contributes in part to poor immigration policy, leading to inequities in the labor market. “The American dream of doing better than the earlier generation is not happening now because wages have stagnated at a deplorably low rate supported by the continued flow of illegal and legal temporary immigrants,” noted North, who was a political appointee in both the JFK and LBJ Administrations and has been studying labor and migration matters for 50 years.
North suggests more vigorous enforcement of immigration laws in the interior of the United States to decrease the flow of illegal immigrants into the country and to increase the flow out. “Until the illegal population is down to a reasonable number, I do not think 11 million is a reasonable number…we should not be doing anything else.”
View the CIS interview series.
Among the points made by Mr. North:
1. High Skilled Immigration’s Effect on Labor Market
Silicon Valley is replicating the agri-business scenario. Employers are bringing in a large number of docile foreign workers to do what employers want done at a depressed wage, distorting the labor market for the worse and discouraging American workers.
2. The Effects of Continued Mass Immigration
The combination of bringing in a large number of temporary foreign workers and illegal immigrants with little education and not enforcing immigration laws increases the labor force on the bottom end of the scale, causing decreased wages and deteriorating working conditions.
3. Employers and worksite enforcement
Employers exert political pressure to avoid worksite enforcement and keep immigration policy tilted in favor of employers and against the rest of us. If illegal immigrants are discouraged to work, wages would increase and working conditions might have to be improved.
4. The 1986 IRCA and Current Reform Efforts
The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act legalized nearly three million illegal immigrants and promised enforcement of laws to prevent the future flow of illegal immigrants. Given the failure of the enforcement component, more vigorous enforcement of our laws in the interior of the United States is needed to encourage people here illegally to leave before any large scale legalization is considered.
5. The Winners and Losers of Immigration Policy
Our immigration policy is tilted towards the winners in life, the people and the corporations who have assets and power. Employers have created the idea that there is a labor shortage allowing them to bring in workers from overseas. In reality, offering better wages or better conditions would allow them to tap into the millions of unemployed.
View a new CIS series analyzing the House of Representatives bill, H.R. 2278.