– Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. The opinions expressed are her own. —
The first Thanksgiving festival was celebrated in 1621 in Massachusetts by the Pilgrims, immigrants to America, out of gratitude for a plentiful harvest.
As we sit around our Thanksgiving tables this Thursday, almost all of us immigrants or their descendants, we’re reminded that one of President-elect Obama’s most important challenges will be to mend our broken immigration policy.
Instead of a rational immigration system, we have occasional raids by immigration officers on plants suspected of employing illegals. Then come deportations that may separate an undocumented parent and children whose birth in the United States made them citizens.
The most controversial facet of the immigration challenge is what to do about the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants. Most are unlikely to return to their native lands, even in today’s tough economic climate.
Nor would we want them to do so. They work at jobs that few Americans choose to do, both in high-skill area—scientific and medical research, for instance—and in mundane yet essential low-skill jobs, such as gardening, washing cars, and cleaning.
In 2007, Congress did not pass President Bush’s comprehensive immigration proposals, supported by the Democratic leadership and many Republicans. Will Obama succeed where Bush failed?
Obama’s proposal mirrors the bill that failed: increased border protection; more visas for new immigrants; penalties for employers who hire undocumented workers; and eventual citizenship for undocumented workers already here, after payment of a fine. It would be a major improvement.
But with unemployment rising, if Congress won’t pass immigration reform, it could still improve the functioning of American labor markets with narrower action. It could authorize the Department of Labor to decide on its own the number of work permits and temporary visas to be issued each calendar quarter.
Every year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), as instructed by law, issues 65,000 H-1b temporary visas for skilled workers. These lucky workers are certified by the Labor Department out of approximately 630,000 approved applications from employers. Immigrants who hold H-1b visas must return to their home countries when their jobs end.
Yet, as the numbers show, most applicants do not get a visa. Many skilled foreign college graduates who have been studying in America, often at American taxpayer expense, are denied access to American jobs. They must leave, taking their intellectual achievements and valuable skills with them.
Foreign workers benefit the American economy. They pay taxes. They keep laboratories and motels, high-tech shows and construction sites, running. They cannot if they are sent away.
For 2009, the H-1b visa cap of 65,000 was reached one week after the start of the application process on April 1, 2008. That represents a tiny part of the U.S. labor force of 154 million. Even if the quota were raised to 150,000, that would be less than one tenth of 1% of the labor force. Such a quota would still deny admission to the vast majority of prospective applicants who don’t apply due to the small likelihood of success.
Whereas Congress is ill-suited to change laws each time the economy goes up or down, the Labor Department has both the expertise to evaluate changing labor markets and the flexibility to adjust visa quotas. Congress should consider letting the Labor Department make quarterly decisions about how many visas to issue.
When unemployment rises, the Department would issue fewer visas; when it goes down, visas could be increased. The Department could manage visas without causing undue burden on U.S. workers or community facilities, such as schools and hospitals.
Allowing the Labor Department to adjust legal immigration every quarter would help America. President-elect Obama could leave behind the rancor and division over immigration that have plagued the Bush administration, and set a new tone for a new year. That would be something to be thankful for next Thanksgiving.
Diana Furchtgott-Roth can be reached at dfr@hudson.org.
I question if Americans really don't want to do the jobs that these immigrants perform. But really that is a side issue. The main concern is whether or not we should be support illegal immigration. Nobody would question the importance of immigrants to the workforce - particularly if there is a lack of labor in certain key areas. I am just not certain why we turn a blind eye to illegal immigration. Apart from being fair to those who work legally, I am also concerned by the mistreatment of employees who might have poor communication skills and a low level of education.
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MS. Diana Furchtgott-Roth,
I wouldn’t make any conclusions about anyone’s aptitude, many of us have been living with the labor-arbitrage problem for many years.
The problem with your thesis is that employers have been allowed to submit employment advertisements as proof of shortage, while employment growth and college graduation statistics contradict and disprove the shortage claims.
Migration is traditionally born from famine, flood, war and slavery. Employment based immigration is very close to wage-slavery and must be carefully monitored. Bush’s response to discourse from the citizens is to stop publishing the H-1B Charateristics report since FY 2005 (OCT 2004) and withholding the Technology Administration (TA)offshoring report for two years.
You are correct that there is no way to adjust immigration downward in hard economic times, but the government has no problem with creating new categories of employment based visas and increasing immigration.
I submit a partial list:
H1A Temporary worker performing services as a registered nurse = 3 years
H1B Temporary worker of distinguished merit…. other than as a registered nurse = 3 years
H1B1 Free Trade Agreement Professional = 1 year
H1C Shortage area nurse = 3 years
H2A Temporary worker performing agricultural services =1 year
H2B Temporary worker performing other services = 1year
H2R Returning H2B worker = 1year
H3 Trainee = 2 years
L1 Intracompany transferee = 3 years
O1 Person with extraordinary ability in the sciences, art, education, business, or athletics = 3 years
O2 Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O1 = 3 years
P1 Internationally recognized athlete or member … entertainment group = 5 years
P2 Artist or entertainer in a reciprocal exchange program = 1 year
P3 Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program = 1 year
R1 Person in a religious occupation = 5 years
TN NAFTA professional = 1 year (now 3 years)
Moreover, the GATS Mode 4 negotiations will require the U.S. to provide larger static amounts of “service” related visas.
Migrating can be an act of desparation, equity destroyed, not just property ownership, but friends, family and land improvements are abandonded. The migrant has no option to demand the market wage, she has no fall-back support options. Hyper-competitiveness then bankrupts foreign agriculture businesses — creating more economic expulsion. (India is correct to protect its farmers.)
Mismanaged migration is the epicenter of the global financial meltdown. There are thousands of well educated Engineers and Computer specialists who are now expert in immigration, labor arbitrage and economics from personal experience. Yet, when Congress debates employment based immigration, they withhold data and invite a single witness, an out of touch billionare executive who made his fortune stealing technology.
Can you see why there is so much resistance to one-sided, haphazard immigration proposals designed to provide labor cost-controls and new customers for the subprime mortgage industry?
The work illegal says it all.This lady is so far off base.I am a Caucasian American who started a cleaning business.American small businesses don’t want to hire me because they are having their offices serviced by janitorial companies who are using indentured servitude employees and illegals.These janitorial companies are in no way,shape or form paying these employees minimum wage.As an employer you must pay towards Social Security,Medicare and also cover workman’s comp.This can’t be done when these janitorial companies are only charging $37.50 a service for a huge building while providing only 2 janitors.It is not our government who is screwing the American workers but it is the American companies who are greedy.The more people who become unemployed means that those who have secure,good paying jobs will be paying higer taxes to compensate for their neighbors who lose thier homes and jobs.So it’s pay a fair living wage and employ Americans in the jobs or it’s pay more taxes.You decide,greedy American companies what it’s going to be.
We have heard from those who believe America needs more immigrants, and those who believe we have too many. The point of the article is that we currently have no easy way of changing the numbers of legal immigrants in response to changes in economic conditions: Congress established a quota in the early 1990s and cannot manage to alter it. This makes no sense. We need some way of adjusting visas so that we have fewer legal immigrants in economic downturns and more when the economy picks up or when we need a particular set of skills. My proposal that the Labor Department be given the authority to set quarterly visa quotas would be one way to address this. No doubt you readers, who are brighter than I, can think of many better ways.
Diana
I think that the address immigrant, should be rebranded, to enhance a united economic activeness, especially now that the global economy is meltingdown to rubbles. The thought is that jobs in such locations are designed to be effected by these group called immigrants. The earlier every administrative formation identifies the issue of immigration as an aspect of labour movement, and as a compliment of the society,the sooner, financial distress among instituttions are solved. Much depends on economic factors and accurately and correctiy repositioning of investment ideas.
The government has been lying to you……again.
The BIG LIE……
They keep saying there are only 12 million illegal immigrants in our United States.
FACT: In the last 22 years, over 26 million illegals, have been apprehended, after crossing the border, into our United States. THE PROBLEM IS: Less than 1, out of 4, of the invading illegals, are estimated to have been apprehended.
According to the U.S. Immigration Service another 6 million illegals in our country are visa overstays.
There are, AT LEAST, 40 million illegal immigrants in our United States……….
there are 8.7 million illegals working at on-the-books jobs that they used forged, and/or stolen, identities, to illegally obtain.
there are at least that many more illegals working under the table, for unscrupulous employers, as part of the underground economy.
there are over 5 million illegal immigrant students overcrowding our schools, all at American taxpayer expense.
Illegal immigrants cost American taxpayers over 300 billion dollars a year.
The Bush administration in its final weeks will revive a stalled crackdown on U.S. companies that hire illegal immigrants, issuing a new regulation and asking a federal judge to lift a ban on the measure, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced yesterday.
If the court agrees, the government could begin mailing notices to 140,000 employers regarding suspect Social Security numbers used by an estimated 8.7 million workers, pressuring businesses to either resolve discrepancies or fire workers within 90 days.
E-VERIFY MUST BE MANDATED, FOR ALL EMPLOYEES, AND FOR ALL EMPLOYERS!!!
UNEMPLOYED AMERICAN WORKERS NEED THOSE JOBS!!!
STOP THE INVASION!!!
UNITED STATES BORDER APPREHENSIONS (Source DHS/CBP)
1987–1,190,488——1995–1,394,554——2003—-93 1,557
1988–1,008,145——1996–1,649,986——2004–1,1 60,395
1989—-954,243——1997–1,412,953——2005–1,18 9,075
1990–1,169,939——1998–1,555,776——2006–1,0 89,902
1991–1,197,875——1999–1,579,010——2007—-87 6,704
1992–1,258,482——2000–1,676,438——2008—-72 3,825
1993–1,327,259——2001–1,266,213——2009—-(b eginning 10/01)
1994–1,094,717——2002—-955,310
FACT: In the last 22 years, over 26 million illegals, have been apprehended, after crossing the border, into our United States.
THE PROBLEM IS: Less than 1, out of 4 illegals, are estimated to have been apprehended.
Mind boggling, isn’t it.
According to the U.S. Immigration Service another 6 million illegals in our country are visa overstays. That is, they got a visa legally in their home country, they came here to visit and then they never left.
In the last 22 years, there have been another 4 million anchor babies born to illegals. Anchor babies are now being born at a rate of 350-400 thousand per year in our United States. All at our expense!!
Then the ANCHOR BABIES qualify for welfare, food stamps, section-8 housing, all at our expense.
American Taxpayers are getting screwed, over, and over, and over, again!!!
Each illegal immigrant, on average, costs taxpayers $9,000 PER YEAR, over, and above, anything they might contribute in taxes!!! A total cost to American taxpayers of over 300 billion dollars each, and every, year.
Wha, Wha, wha, Americans have not had to really work for a long time. I am sure this attitude will get worse as things get worse. Who can we blame? Its been a great ride…and still is…Get over your your self indulgent, entitled selves.
The reality of global competition has almost nothing to do with public policy etc.
Technology has accelerated the process now a person can do your job, working and middle class for less somewhere else. BTY I own a construction company. Americans, white, black, etc. are demanding and lazy, far far more often than immigrant workers.
Its just not 1975 any more.
The borders between canada and the usa should be opened up with free flow of labor and goods like the european union.Defense and security could then be continental instead of cut in the middle
There are 10 mln unemployed in the States and about 10-12 mln illegal immigrants. Obviously the problem will not be fixed within a year.
I am a naturalized American, however currenly not living in the USA, for more than a year. My job was moved offshore, and I found the whole process quite brutal.
I think housing forclosures are a much bigger issue at the moment. It devastates entire families and values.
What about the high crime rate associated with illegals coming from Mexico ? Take a look at the crime rate in Phoenix, Tuscon and other cities near the Mexican border. That’s just another cost associated with having these illegals in this country.
Oh I forgot added medical costs ….
Immigration and free trade is the root cause of the disappearing middle class. The influx of immigrants into our work force is deteriorating the wages in more than just agriculture. Construction related trades like masons, iron workers and even electricians have seen substantial decreases in pay since the early 1970’s. If you base your wages on the increases in the price of a postage stamp we all have lost about 50% of the buying power we had just 30 years ago. Our country is a wreck and we aren’t even close to a recovery we need a massive social, economic and governmental overhaul.
BTW - the exchange rate for the peso is currently about 13:1. So if you can manage to get in this country and earn $15 an hour working construction - that’s equivelant to making $195 peso an hour or 1560 peso a day. If you work 6 days a week that’s almost $9500 pesos a week. I’m sure if you were in Mexico you can live pretty high on the hog with about $40,000 pesos a month. Especially if you’re not paying any taxes on it. I know a lot of these guys come here and work about 6-9 months a year and then turn themselves in to get a free ride back to Mexico at our expense.
“They work at jobs that few Americans choose to do, both in high-skill area—scientific and medical research, for instance—and in mundane yet essential low-skill jobs, such as gardening, washing cars, and cleaning.”
This is exactly why immigration is a problem. While most of the main stream press reports things such as the statement above, this is NOT the truth. These people aren’t here doing just those jobs. They’re taking good paying construction jobs away from Americans. I see it everywhere my company travels.
I say we have another “Operation Wetback” just like in the 50’s. Round them all up, don’t just send them back across the southern border, but put them on a ship and take them as far south as possible in Mexico and put them off on a remote island that belongs to Mexico. Make it Mexico’s problem.
America is the land of immigrants i would say. tighter borders and a deal for the illegal immigrants in the states would go a long way in solving this problem
To suggest that America is somehow suffering for a lack of labor is disingenuous at best. And to rely upon never-ending population growth as a source of economic growth is bad economics. We face far too many challenges in this country already that will only be exacerbated by further rampant population growth fueled by immigration. Breaking our dependence on foreign oil and reducing carbon emissions, just to name a couple, will be impossible if we keep importing more oil consumers and more carbon emitters.
It’s time we stopped giving credence to these economists who are so bankrupt of ideas for improving our macroeconomy that they fall back on a reliance on destructive population growth.
i believe the solution would be to tighten the border security. Then as prescribed in Obama’s imm reform, grant already undocumented immigrants in the system stay but letting them pay some form of fine.
ping…..
I recall a book where the author wrote in the preface that she had aproached the writing with all the positive energy which comes from being ignorant.I`ll say no more.
Foreign college students studying in the US at taxpayers’ expense? Are you kidding? I am a foreign student and I am not eligible for any financial aid.
fyi
I kinda like having the illegals around, if they are from Latin America. They tend to do their work with a minimum of whining & snivelling, they do not goof off while on the job, they don’t demand permission to listen to their iPods when working, and they don’t sue their employers. The typical Gringo, however, is quite another story.
In addition, most of the illegals have not participated in the great American food and debt orgy that the USA is now recovering from. Though I think the food orgy is still going on based on those increasing waist sizes. My gripe with the current immigration pool is all these people from the former Soviet Union countries. Mr. Gorbachev, put back that wall! They bring crime with them much worse than anything that came over with the Mariel Boatlift.