Like this:

Do immigrants take the jobs of citizens, or do they improve the economy by filling jobs that citizens don’t want to perform?

Major corporations are not hiring undocumented workers because of the restrictions and penalties already put in place, yet powerful business associations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce support immigration rights. Their website reads, “Throughout our history, the dreams and hard work of immigrants have been a driving force behind America’s success. We need the continued contributions of these immigrants to grow and remain competitive.” Essentially, they favor immigration amnesty for the undocumented workers already working in the U.S. and help secure visas.

Roger Lownstein wrote The Immigration Equation in 2006, and introduced the heart of the immigration debate. Lowenstein presents the expertise of George Borjas, a Cuban immigrant and pre-eminent scholar in this field, who feels “that more job seekers from abroad mean fewer opportunities, or lower wages, for native workers,” which just so happens to be one of the most controversial topics in labor economics.

Illegal Mexican immigrants are typically unskilled and lack education, more than 60 percent of Mexican immigrants are dropouts compared to a 10 percent of native workers. Economists present two important facts, “One is that Mexicans are supplying a skill level that is much in demand. It doesn’t just seem that Americans don’t want to be hotel and Chambermaids, pick lettuce or repair roofs; it’s true. Most gringos are too educated for that kind of work. The added diversity, the complementariness of skills, that Mexicans bring is good for the economy as a whole. They perform services that would otherwise be more expensive and in some cases simply unavailable.”

It is the unskilled Americans, high school dropouts, who are forced to compete with immigrants, and it is America’s unskilled earning just a shade more than immigrants, but Lowenstein argues that immigration is not entirely responsible because there are so many other factors to consider like minimum wage, the decline of unions, and even the advance in technology helps the skilled become more skilled.

As for our current situation, the immigrants are coming home to fewer jobs in a Mexican economy shrinking from the side effects of the U.S. recession. Many jobs are being offered, but the recession seems to be affecting areas both North and South of the border.

Advertisement