Propped up by the fakestream media, the Left can’t stop repeating its long-running lie that illegal immigration is an economic necessity. We are told over and over again that our economy depends on ‘illegal alien’ workers because Americans simply refuse to perform certain jobs. Politicians repeat it. Commentators echo it. It is accepted ‘wisdom’ in many circles.
The underlying claim is that Americans simply will not engage in entire categories of work. What a crock. Voluminous evidence suggests otherwise.
Throughout our history, Americans have built railroads, harvested crops, worked in factories, cleaned buildings, repaired roofs, dug ditches, paved highways, collected garbage, waited tables, and performed other physically demanding jobs. These jobs are not glamorous, yet generations of Americans took them, and take them to this day, because they provide a paycheck and a possible path to something better.
The consistency of human nature
Are present-day Americans willing to work hard? Yes, when employers offer wages, benefits, and working conditions that make those jobs sufficiently attractive.
Basic economics reveals that labor, like other elements of capitalism, is subject to supply and demand. When workers are scarce, employers generally respond by raising wages, improving benefits, investing in training, or increasing productivity through innovation. When labor is abundant, those pressures diminish.
A large supply of illegal aliens (thanks, Joe Biden and former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas) willing to accept lower wages inevitably drives wages down. Even economists and policymakers who favor higher levels of immigration, legal or not, acknowledge that hordes of workers result in downward pressure on wages, especially for lower-income native-born workers.
Not that every illegal immigrant "takes" an American's job: labor markets are too complex for such sweeping claims. An increase in the supply of labor, however, invariably impacts wages, hiring decisions, and employment opportunities in general.
Jobs that Americans Won’t Do?
Analyses of Census Bureau data by the non-partisan Center for Immigration Studies indicate no major occupation in which American-born workers are entirely absent. Even jobs with high concentrations of immigrant labor, such as hospitality, construction, landscaping, janitorial services, housekeeping, and transportation, continue to employ millions of American citizens. This reality undermines the leftist bromide that these are "jobs Americans won't do."
Opportunities can abound even in unpalatable jobs, some of which serve as entry points into decent careers. Younger Americans often begin in physically demanding jobs before moving into higher-paying skilled trades or supervisory positions.
A construction laborer might become a carpenter, electrician, plumber, or project manager. A hotel employee might gravitate to hospitality management. A groundskeeper could eventually operate a landscaping business.
The vital, first rung
Entry-level jobs are not necessarily dead ends. They could represent the first rung on the economic ladder, the first position towards building a solid resume. When such opportunities become more difficult to seize because employers rely heavily on illegal alien labor, younger and less-experienced American workers miss out on key opportunities to gain skills and build careers.
The U.S. has long benefited from legal immigrants who have bolstered the nation's economy, served in the military, started businesses, and otherwise contributed to society. As we all know, opposition to illegal immigration does not equal opposition to lawful immigration.
Every sovereign nation has both the right and the duty to determine who enters its borders and under what conditions. Immigration laws mean nothing if they are not enforced. What’s more, employers who constantly hire illegal alien workers create incentives that encourage additional illegal immigration.
Should employers have access to a large pool of illegal alien labor when millions of Americans remain outside the labor force? The sane answer is no. Should businesses be expected to compete by increasing productivity and improving compensation rather than relying on a continuous supply of workers willing to accept lower wages? An emphatic yes.
Bulltwang in spades
Time marches on, and still we hear, "Americans won't do certain jobs." Well, millions already do. They clean hotels, pour concrete, frame houses, harvest crops, repair roads, landscape neighborhoods, care for the elderly, prepare food, and more. They demonstrate that honest work is never beneath the American worker. Indeed, our domestic workforce has repeatedly shown its willingness to meet the nation's labor needs when given fair opportunities, competitive wages, and a level playing field.
In the specified industries that the Left claims no American will take, the healthy numbers of individuals who will work in those industries tend to be in their 20s. In other words, many people who take such jobs need the income, regard the job as a potent stepping stone, and do not feel it is beneath them. If anything, hiring illegal immigrants harms economic progress for Americans as well as being against the law.
So, on this Labor Day and all the days that follow, spare us the blather about illegal immigrants being vital to our economy. It’s one of the endless bogus narratives that the Left propagates like clockwork.
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