Immigration Haunts Politics!
– By Lisa Rutherford –
Immigration is a hot and “haunting” political topic for conservatives who feel immigrants are costing our nation, stealing jobs, committing crimes, and undermining our way of life. Many think that our immigration numbers are high. But if we look back to the 1800s, the current percentage of immigrants that make up our U.S. population is in line with historical numbers. In the early 1900s, however, just as now, anti-immigrant sentiment and fear of immigrants grew. What we are currently seeing is nothing new. Immigration and nativist backlash have been wedded for more than a century.
In the past, many conservative Republicans have admired Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged and other books that supported laissez-faire capitalism and individual rights, including private property. Regarding immigration, she is quoted as saying, “You’re not entitled to any ‘self-interest’ that injures others, especially when you can’t prove that open immigration affects your self-interest. You can’t claim that anything others may do — for example, simply through competition — is against your self-interest.” But perhaps many of the MAGA Republicans of today have not even heard of Ayn Rand and certainly not read her well-respected works.
If Donald Trump and J.D. Vance were to have their way and remove all illegal and some legal immigrants from our country, what would the economic effects of that be? Have they even thought this through, or is it just political rhetoric to play on the fears of voters who, as Rand asserted, can prove no real danger to themselves from these immigrants? Are these hated immigrants really taking jobs that “real” Americans want? Have voters even thought this through or are they just falling victim to the political rhetoric?
Far from a danger, most immigrants bring great value to this nation as the majority of economists agree. I would ask those who oppose immigrants, “Do you like dairy and meat?” Immigrants are a huge component of that workforce. Consider the fact that employers in the dairy and meat industry have trouble finding workers to do these difficult jobs and must rely on immigrants – legal and illegal – to put meat and dairy on your tables. Think about this when you shop and complain about meat and dairy – and fruit and vegetable – prices. Will they go even higher without immigrants to do that work? Politicians should be working on expanding visa programs not talking about throwing immigrants out of the country. This applies to the construction industry also. Some think that robots will do these jobs, replacing immigrants. Yes, some industries are employing robots, but it remains to be seen how this will play out and if it will help prices.
Preliminary findings from the National Academy of Sciences suggest that immigrants, including undocumented ones, tend to pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits. While state and local impacts might be more mixed, the immigrants’ overall federal fiscal contribution is positive.
Do you even know what immigrants must go through to become legal citizens? The process lasts up to twenty-five years! Have you even taken the time to learn of the challenges they face to achieve citizenship while living your comfortable life – made comfortable through their work efforts?
Some, including Trump and Vance, assert there are 20-25 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. That is unverified! The commonly accepted number is 11 million – 3.3% of our U.S. population. The population of unauthorized or illegal immigrants peaked in 2007. The number of unauthorized/illegal immigrants grew from 2019 to 2022 but was still below the 12.2 million in 2007. The number of immigrants – legal and illegal – reached a new high in 2023, they accounted for 14.3% of the total U.S. population, below the record high of 14.8% in 1890. In fact, the monthly number of U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants at the Mexico border has plummeted so far in 2024 due to policy changes on both sides of the border.
According to economists, many who are concerned about immigration fall victim to the “lump of labor fallacy” – fear that with only a certain number jobs to go around if an immigrant takes one, then an American will lose out. Although an immigrant may take a job, they may also “create” a job. Immigrants comprise 25% of all entrepreneurs in the U.S.
David Card’s 1990 study of the Mariel boatlift that brought 125,000 Cuban refugees to Florida in 1980 found the “supply shock” had a relatively small impact. Any negative impacts of migration for native workers in developed countries are, if they exist at all, relatively small and short-lived. In fact, Forbes reports that “New research finds immigrants play a vital role in producing jobs, innovation and new businesses in the United States.”
Stephen Miller, advisor to Trump, has used a study by George Borjas of the Cuban boatlift as rationale for expelling immigrants. However, the study has been criticized and Card’s 1990 study results still stand. Although Borjas is described as a leading immigration economist, a number of other studies concluded the opposite of what Borjas’ study had found. Born in 1950 in Cuba during the Cold War, perhaps that created some bias in his study. Borjas is a confirmed conservative, but the Miami Herald wrote, “He opposes the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants as inhumane.”
The 20-25-million claim has also been used by Trump, Vance and other conservatives as an excuse for the housing affordability problem, but that has been debunked by economists and housing experts, who say that other forces have played a much bigger role. Illegal immigration is not a top reason prices are high but may be helping to keep rents elevated in some areas. In fact, immigrants generally are not so demanding when it comes to housing amenities that drive house prices up. They just want a roof over their heads. Reducing the homebuilding workforce made up largely of immigrants by deporting immigrants as Trump and Vance want would worsen the nation’s persistent housing shortage, not help! A bigger concern for affordable housing is those with money who move to an area and drive up home prices and the proliferation of short-term rentals.
Trump and Vance have blamed immigrants and liberal policies for increasing crime rates. The Brennan Center for Justice reported that although crime rose during the Covid-19 pandemic this was not a result of criminal justice reform in liberal-leaning jurisdictions since murders rose “roughly equally” in cities run by Republicans and cities run by Democrats, and some of the highest murder rates were seen in so-called red states. Additionally, the Cato Institute also reported that substantial research shows immigration is not linked to higher levels of crime.
So, what does the future hold for immigration, both legal and illegal? Economists with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas warn, “If immigration normalizes, it will return to rates that are insufficient to sustain the type of economic growth the U.S. is accustomed to. The nation is in a sort of demographic autumn, and winter is coming. The retirement of the baby boomers and overall aging of the workforce, as well as low and falling birth rates mean population growth will become entirely dependent on immigration by 2040, as deaths of U.S.-born will outpace births.”
In the meantime, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and as a result of the immigration surge, GDP is predicted to be higher by about $8.9 trillion and federal government tax revenues by $1.2 trillion over the 2024-34 period while deficits will be lower by $900 billion.
We need more immigrants not fewer. Immigration may “haunt” politics but it is critical for the future of this nation. Leaders need to increase visas to allow more immigrants and not let politics get in the way of Congressional bills to help this country’s immigration process. Think about this when you go to vote.
