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Posted on 09/26/2007 5:15:43 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Immigration is a resource. One that the United States has mismanaged horribly, Benjamin Johnson told members of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences Arts and Letters Tuesday.
The problem is that recent U.S. policies have focused on the supply of immigrant workers and failed to account for the steady demand for workers to fill the jobs that immigrants do, said Johnson, executive director of the Immigration Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
"There is a legitimate demand for immigration," Johnson said.
On one hand, immigrant workers are needed to fill low-paying jobs U.S. society little values; on the other, they are needed to fill high-tech jobs that fuel the innovation that made the United States a world leader, he said.
Johnson spoke at the Overture Center as part of an Academy series, "Understanding Immigration." Previous presentations looked at immigration's historical impact nationally and in Wisconsin. The series concludes next Tuesday with Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute, who will talk about the challenges facing today's immigrants.
Despite the heat emanating from the current debate on immigration, the proportion of foreign-born residents today approximates those in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before the Great Depression, War World II and Cold War spawned policies to restrict entry to the country, Johnson said.
"We need to acknowledge the culture we're so proud of -- rightly so -- in many ways has been shaped by immigration," he said.
The number of immigrants now entering the country, some 800,000 to 900,000 in 2006, is not keeping pace with the number of jobs created: some 2.6 million last year.
Immigration over history has closely tracked the employment rate and is highest at the extremes of education levels -- those without high school diplomas and those with advanced graduate degrees, Johnson said.
"The U.S. workforce is there in the middle," he said.
President Bush's remark that immigrant workers take jobs Americans don't want touched a nerve on both sides of the immigration debate, but Johnson maintained that the older, more educated workforce of America today indeed does not want to do the physical labor, regardless of whatever patina of romance surrounds it.
Many citizens today point to how grandparents entered the United States legally to build a life by the strength of their backs, but immigration policies have made that much more difficult for lower-skilled workers today, Johnson said.
"At Ellis Island, if you didn't have TB and weren't loony, you were in legally," he said. Only 5,000 "green cards" conferring permanent residency on low-skilled workers were issued last year, he said.
The country also is sending mixed messages to immigrant workers. Beyond the ironies of trying to keep people out with a 700-mile fence on a 2,000-mile border, "we're putting up a sign on that fence that says 'Help Wanted' right next to a sign that says 'Keep Out.' If people can't find a way through the front door, they're going to look for a way through the back door," Johnson said.
U.S. policies also put employers in a predicament with even more obstacles threatened. A proposed tightening of policy would penalize employers whose workers have Social Security numbers that don't match federal records, but no effective way of checking employee documents is being offered. "Let's stop vilifying employers," Johnson said. "A lot of them are your next-door neighbors."
The impact of legalizing immigrant workers on wages and prices is difficult to gauge in today's global economy, Johnson said. But there's no question in his mind the country would be better off without undocumented workers who enter an underground economy.
The burden on the social service system attributed to undocumented workers really is tied to low-wage jobs, he said.
"We should not be asking 'Where are you from?' We should be asking 'What is your wage? Is your workplace safe?'"
While amnesty for undocumented immigrants is a red-hot political issue, Johnson questions the practicality of proposals that would require them to leave the country. Of the estimated 12 million undocumented workers in the United States, some 4 million have been in the country 10 years or more.
"They are homeowners, their kids go to school with your kids. We uproot those folks at our peril," he said. "We've made investments to educate their kids -- that's the golden egg."
The political impact of the growing number of immigrant voters in the near future is hard to predict, he said.
The Hispanic electorate grew from 2.5 million in 1980 to 12.8 million in 2007. Hispanics have not lined up consistently with either major party, but are emerging as swing voters, Johnson said.
While they are not a monolithic block, Hispanic voters share some important traits, he said
First, research shows that for Hispanic voters, immigration is a top issue that gets them to the polls, Johnson said. And immigrant voters see the immigration issue through a different lens.
Native-born Americans see the immigration debate in terms of the "rule of law" versus "immigration reform," while immigrant voters see the debates in terms of enforcement versus discrimination, he said.
Hispanics support controls on immigration, but identify discrimination as a key problem facing their community. But when it comes to preventing undocumented immigrants from renting apartments, denying them drivers licenses and asking police to stop them on the streets, "that raises the hairs on a lot of people's necks," Johnson said.
While the United States grapples with who to let in, the rest of the world is aware that immigration has helped it develop "the most dynamic and creative workforce in the history of the world," Johnson said.
The United States attracts the best and brightest, he said. "Sometimes the best and brightest is someone with a lot of education and sometimes it's someone who has a dream."
Other nations are scrambling to attract workers, especially those who are highly skilled that the United States meets with indifference.
"We have to figure out what kind of immigrants we want and how to get them here legally," Johnson said. "Then we can grow the economy in ways that are powerful."
Still, he anticipates things will get worse before they get better, he said in an interview. "I think we're going to have to try to enforce our way out of the problem. And fail."
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Exactly.
So according to this dickhead we have to allow the increasing drain on our resources.
Don’t we all get this? That once they are legal, they are no longer “low-wage” earners? I see unionization in their future a la UAW.
Lou Dobbs: We have NINE guest worker programs. Let’s use them if we need them.
The main immigration restrictions were implemented immediately after the First World War (1926 IIRC), although several groups were restricted before this. These restrictions were not eased untill after the Second World War.
What if, just what if we reformed our welfare system so that the legions of indolent parasites we have in this country would take what jobs there were or starve.
What if, just what if our elected representatives had some respect or even some compassion for the people who pay the freight in this country.
Your logical and well posted thought has NO PLACE IN THIS DEBATE, Sir! ;)
It’s just insane, isn’t it? Yet another result of socialists allowed to run wild due to spineless conservatives.
You’re right. Our “elected officials” stop listening to us the MINUTE they hit the Beltway. Grrrrrrrr!
I just did a little search on NewsMeat (campaign contributions; http://www.newsmeat.com/) for the people who serve on the board of “The Immigration Policy Center”.
I was soooo surprised at what I found.
Not.
All moonbats. The one in Texas gave to Republican candidates, but...Hutchison was one of them. Geez.
Lord, this man writes for ME!
PING! BABY! PING!
About 300 million experts here in the US alone.
I've got some really nice black bulls, and that sentence is their waste.
However, today's LEGAL immigration, at around 1,000,000 per year, is about the same, as a proportion of the total population, as the "restrictionist" period 1925-29.
Personally, I think we do need many immigrants, but we should make them bid for the right (in addition to whatever background, health, etc checks we want). Brain surgeons and opera stars would bid high. People who want to hire "cheap" gardeners would have to pay a stiff fee for the privilege. Either set a fee level, and see how many want to come at that level -- or set a number, and see what price clears the market. In either case, enforce the law, collect back taxes, and clear out those who won't comply.
“The number of immigrants now entering the country, some 800,000 to 900,000 in 2006, is not keeping pace with the number of jobs created: some 2.6 million last year.”
I see, our population of 2??/3?? millions is not expected to create any net new workers on its own??? Wrong. In fact, with 301 million people, our population does add 2.6 million people a year, on its own.
In fact current immigration levels are higher than “keeping pace” and, if just to be “keeping pace” could be slightly lower. Net U.S. natural population growth is about 2 million (births minus deaths), and with our demographics we are graduating more than 2.6 million high school seniors a year (that does not count the dropouts). http://www.collegeboard.com/highered/res/hel/hel.html#grads
I forgot, what was your answer to the question of exactly what is an acceptable number of Americans killed or raped by these illegals? Is 1,000 ok with you? Is your magic number 2500 American victims?
We know that you open border profiteers like to pretend that this isn't part of the issue but the rest of us know it is.
I think it is not an accident that the major restrictions were implemented after the first World War disrupted the migrations from eastern and southern Europe, forcing employers who had gotten in the habit of using cheap immigrant labor to either mechanize or hire Americans (often blacks).
Even your homies have deserted you.
And the lack of replies in this important thread speaks for itself.
A lot of the more educated anti-illegals are hiding in lurk mode...afraid to show their faces...because they realize they've been made laughing stocks.
ping
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