– Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. –
It’s welcome news that President Obama will turn his attention to immigration reform this year, as was announced on Wednesday by Deputy Assistant to the President Cecilia Muñoz. Economic recovery will happen more quickly if both high- and low-skill immigrants are permitted to enter the United States and work legally.
Two years ago, when Congress was considering comprehensive immigration reform, both President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers and the Congressional Budget Office, headed by Peter Orszag, an economist closely identified with the Democratic Party, estimated that the benefits of additional immigrants outweighed the costs. If Congress allowed more immigration, then American taxpayers would come out ahead financially.
Yet, after Congress refused to pass President Bush’s plan to allow most undocumented workers to receive work visas and wait in line for citizenship, the Bush administration’s immigration policy deteriorated into a series of arbitrary raids on different companies, rounding up undocumented workers and deporting them, in many cases separating husbands and wives, parents and children.
We can do better. Although the unemployment rate reached 8.5 percent last month, the jobs are going to come back, and, as has been the case in the past, native-born Americans will want jobs that are different from those of immigrants, according to economics professor Giovanni Peri of the University of California at Davis.
Congress needs to overhaul immigration law and create an expanded temporary worker program with a path to citizenship, along with more verification to prevent workers from working illegally, and monitoring of tourists and students so that they do not overstay their visas.
A rational immigration policy would have numerous advantages:
- Undocumented workers would pay taxes to federal and state governments rather than to grey-market check cashing services.
- Payments for health care through insurance could be collected more easily, rather than burdening hospital emergency rooms with immigrants without health insurance.
- Foreigners who want to work here could pay the government for visas rather than pay smugglers for unsafe, illicit transportation.
- Improvements in security. Legal visas and bank accounts would make it far easier to identify and track potential terrorists, dubious financial transactions, and those who simply overstay visas.
A rational immigration policy would solve several real problems the United States faces with regard to immigration. The international economy is tremendously dynamic; our immigration system is not. Temporary workers must spend months applying for admission, and due to the pile-up in April of every year, may not even get a visa.
Few low-skilled workers have a legal and reliable method to enter this country and work legally, and few Americans want to do the jobs, such as fruit picking and cleaning, that these workers want to pursue. And even high-skilled workers trained at U.S. colleges and universities, often at taxpayer expense, might have to wait years and spend thousands of dollars to become permanent residents of the nation.
Mr. Obama might want to consider transferring the authority of setting quotas from Congress to the Labor Department. The Labor Department already has the presumptive authority to judge whether demand for foreign labor is justified, through its foreign labor certifications. If the Labor Department is allowed to determine whether or not a foreign worker would displace a native one, it could also be allowed to calculate visa quotas.
High-skilled workers educated in America ought to be able to stay; otherwise, our investment in their education becomes lost to another country. If the Labor Department determines that a foreign worker would not displace Americans, that worker should not be barred from entering the country due to an arbitrary quota. And people who want to enter this country in order to work in jobs Americans are not willing to take ought to have an easy, legal way to do so.
Mr. Obama has the opportunity to craft a sensible and dynamic immigration system. All Americans should wish him success.
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Once again, employers see an opportunity to flood the market with cheap labor with low costs, no benefits, etc.
They are suggesting that American workers accept the fact that they should be happy to live in dormitories, or worse
When will these so-called “jobs” that Americans seem “unwilling to do” be called exactly what they are?
“Jobs that pay so poorly Americans can’t afford to take them”!
Since Microsoft, Dell and many others who’ve spent years send our work overseas for cheap labor why not shift the load. Send our educated and qualified work force there. Oh wait; those countries don’t want us there, only our business. I know, I worked for Spanish International Network in the US and when I tried to go to work in Mexico City I was told they needed to fill their positions with their people.
Until corporate America bring those jobs back, American’s should boycott all companies who’ve allow billions to go into the pockets of the founders and upper management while paying sweatshop wages to the rank and file of their contractor\’s overseas.
“Its time to sympathize with the status of being undocumented. I agree strongly with the article.”
- Posted by Nelson M
_______________-
Nelson M and other illegal immigration champions,
What part of the word “illegal” is not clear to you?
Illegal property acquisition, aka theft, is rewarded with jail time. What makes you think that illegal entry should be rewarded with anything else, particularly with the open path to citizenship? The only form of leniency to illegal aliens should be deportation, and only because imprisonment would put an unnecessary burden on the tax payers.
Quit simpering. Drive the illegals into the sea. Prosecute their traitorous supporters. All jobs will be performed at some pay-rate. Let those pay-rates rise as needed … or let the sweatshop owners go broke.
It is time for a reality check Diana. Overseas remittances are down from the U.S. by immigrant workers. This is probably due to rising unemployment and significantly smaller paychecks for those still employed. You are correct in your assertion that we need more highly skilled workers. This has been a need for decades that our nation has not addressed. We do not produce the number of engineers and computer scientists we need. We grant visas to fill barely one third of the skilled positions available. In all this time we have not begun to increase the number of engineers our schools produce. Compared to the economic meltdown and global warming such a task appears to be mundane. Why have we not produced more engineers and scientists?(Rhetorical question)
Its time to sympathize with the status of being undocumented. I agree strongly with the article.
I’m really tired of the argument that we need to fast track citizenship for illegals because they only do jobs that few Americans want. In my area, illegal immigrants have all but taken over the construction trades. They get paid less which holds down wages in general, but since THEY DON’T PAY TAXES, the take home pay for them is not that much less. Plus they get whatever benefits they milk from society. The employers get to skate too because they don’t have to pay their part of fica, medicare, unemployment tax, etc., as the workers are “off the books.” On top of that, these are opportunities lost for resident, tax paying Americans who are losing their homes, cars and whatever else because they can’t find work. You, Ms. Furchtgott-Roth, may not want these types of jobs, but I assure you there are millions of
resident Americans that do. I say NO to citizenship for all illegal immigrants and I also say we put a BIG HURT on the employers and politicians (of both parties) that are selling out America for their own personal gain. Deal with the illegal problems first, then welcome in the many respectful people that are willing to become part of America the legal way.
I applaud her for what a remarkable nail biting truth about where we are as a country right now, and its future. Though i have to admit, I’m disappointed at comments by some of you fox who came here as immigrants long years ago, this country has fruitfully done you all wonders and prosperity than you ever imagined, but now, you don’t see any necessity of these wondering undocumented immigrants to better start contributing to this country and their families so that they can be as thankful as you documented immigrants are, what a sinking soul.
The immigration system needs an over-whole improvement in all areas, and taking into consideration the competitive economic future and prosperity for all its citizens, i agree with the article.
Illegal immigration is rapidly turning the USA into a third-world country. These ideas would only accelerate the process and encourage more illegals to come to get their share of the pie. Until the USA stops birthright citizenship the pregnant masses will do everything they can to get here and have a child inside our borders.
So, legalizing will mean all these illegals will magically start paying taxes! What crap from the left wing media. I am myself a naturalized US Citizen and came to the US as a legal immigrant and waited for years to get my green card and then the 5 year wait for US citizenship. There are millions like me who are patiently waiting their turn. To allow school drop outs from Mexico to walk across the border and all of a sudden be called “undocumented” as if they forgot to bring their papers along with them is everything that is NOT America, a nation of law abiding citizens. We still have a refugee policy for those who are fleeing religous and other persecution. But just to walk in to this nation and demand US citizenship? We might as well make Mexico another state of the US. Because in 10 years we will have 20 million undocumented aliens. Immigration to the US should be based on our needs not the choice of school drop outs to break our laws and squat here uninvited.
We’ve given the highly educated elites of this country too much credit and way too much rope, the rope that legal law abiding citizens are being hung with every day. The Government by the government and for the government with its arrogant and confiscatory attitude have robbed us of our greatness and our sovereignty. We can not be complacent and allow these lobbying duplicitous people to ruin our future, and our children’s future. Allowing Immigration to occur when it is strictly enforced is the only way to go. The problem is the big government is incapable of enforcing its own laws. Living in the United states is not a given right it is an earned right. And you don’t earn that right by criminally entering this Country. IMHO
I don’t understand how someone can be so dumb. This is absolute nonsense.
This has to be one of the dumbest things I have ever had the displeasure to read. I just wasted five minutes of my life I can never get back. We tried giving these people amnesty in 1986 and guess what : It failed big time. Now this woman wants to reward even more illegals for breaking our laws and crossing our border illegally ?? Are these Liberals mentally disturbed or do they just not get it ?? At what point will they finally wake up and come to the realization that we need strong border enforcement and we need jobs for people whom are born here and those who go through the process of becoming a citizen legally . Rewarding criminal behavior will only encourage more of it.
“If Congress allowed more immigration, then American taxpayers would come out ahead financially.”
I remember when Al and Bill told us that if we just passed NAFTA we would have no more flood of people at our southern border.
I think the American taxpayer has had about all the help they can stand, and financially support.
BTW, your argument that Americans don’t want to do “fruit-picking” is completely misleading.
Just 4% of illegals work in agriculture, meaning 96% do not.
Illegals work in manufacturing, restaurants/other service professions, and increasingly, construction. You know, jobs that Americans do.
What a ridiculous article.
Hey lady, we already DID Amnesty in 1986, did that work?
Of course not, because the DAY AFTER Amnesty was signed NEW ILLEGALS came pouring into the country.
We had 0 illegals the day Amnesty was signed in 1986, ow we have 12 million. If we sign amnesty now we’ll just have ANOTHER 20 million in 20 years.
Illegals LOWER WAGES for Americans and cost WAY MORE in taxes than they contribute. Even by making them legal they are such low-skilled workers they will still not even COME CLOSE to what we pay for them in taxes. And because they are citizens they will be eligible for FEDERAL benefits.
And if they want a raise because they’re now legal, the business will just fire them and hire an illegal that will inevitably come to the US.
Your arguments make no sense, we’ve already tried your plan, it failed miserably.
What’s the FINAL conclusion on the immigration? So many people tried to do the reform and the answer is the 12 million increased illegals. Better fix it now and else it going to increase the pain of USA.
My wife is a LEGAL immigrant. She is from the center of Russia and it took her 8 years to do everything right. If she can then Diana Furchtgott-Roth needs to can the amnesty idea along with everyone else. By the way, my wife now makes a well deserved high six digit figure here in Kansas City. Doing things right and obeying our laws matters!
Congratulations for this article. American indians descendants are the only ones that could call themselves originally native americans. As Brazil, the United States is a country made of immigrants, people from all parts of the world that are building nations which strenght is the diversity, tolerance and solidarity. The skin color cannot be a reason to discriminate. The world from the space has no borders, this was a view from an American astronaut. Practicing freedom is louder than shouting the word freedom. May God continue to bless America and America continue to be a blessing and example to the world.
I can not agree to allowing illegal immigrants into this country and then giving them citizenship. Jobs, o.k., but citizenship, no. Allow them to come in on temporary work visas only. And who do you think will take the jobs that “no one here wants” when the children of these illegals grow up and won’t settle for less either. What will happen is that the future of our own children will be compromised when this next generation goes into the job market. By any manipulation of the word “illegal”, it is still the same thing; Or, as it says on a recent bumper sticker I saw, “calling an illegal immigrant an undocumented worker is like calling a drug dealer an unlicensed pharmacist”. Once you get past the intended humor of that bumper sticker, it is quite accurate.