Dispelling the Immigration Myths
In practicing immigration law, I've found that in our society there are many misconceptions linked to immigration and the immigrant population. In some upcoming columns, I'll address some myths.
Myth 1: Immigrants take jobs from Americans.
UK Immigration Lawyer : Economic studies show that immigrants actually increase economic productivity and the wages of American workers.
The most frequent immigration myth I hear is that immigrants are taking most of "our" jobs. In reality, studies support the proposition that immigrants, whether here legally or illegally, not only don't take jobs from native-born citizens, they actually create jobs and raise the economic output and salaries of American workers. Among the major findings in a 2007 report by the White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) to the Executive Office of the President was that, on average, U.S. natives benefit from immigration because immigrants have a tendency to complement U.S. natives and don't substitute for them at work.
Foreign-born workers fill gaps left by native-born workers both in high-skilled and low-skilled jobs -jobs necessary for the effective continuation of today's level of U.S. economy and society. A March 2008 National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) report showed that for every H-1B visa (non-immigrant visa which allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations) requested by an S&P 500 U.S. technology company, overall employment at the company increased by five workers. The NFAP report also discovered that among the study-sample companies experiencing layoffs, for each H-1B position requested, total employment was estimated to be two workers a lot more than it otherwise could have been. A written report released this month by the Technology Policy Institute noted that very skilled immigrant workers, admitted to the U.S. on H-1B and other visas, benefit the federal budget by paying more in taxes than less skilled workers. In addition, the Technology Policy Institute study discovered that these types of very skilled immigrant workers are not more likely to receive federal benefits, particularly in the near term.
In its comprehensive report published in 1997, the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that on average, an immigrant and his or her children generate public revenue that exceeds their public costs as time passes -approximately $80,000 more in taxes than they receive in state, federal and local benefits throughout their lifetimes. According to the 2007 CEA report, the predictions created by the NRC ten years earlier were accurate. The CEA report stated that, "the long-run impact of immigration on public budgets is likely to be positive."
When immigrants fill lower-skilled, labor-intensive positions, their effort and lower pay allows higher-skilled U.S. workers to increase productivity and therefore increase their incomes. Also, as the native-born U.S. population becomes better educated, young immigrant workers fill gaps in the low-skilled labor markets. Native-born workers are then able to focus on their profession of choice. This technique is exemplified by typical poultry packaging corporations. At most poultry producing companies, the owners, managers and board of directors are able to focus on corporate business since they can hire lower-paid, often immigrant, workers to process, clean and package the merchandise. As has been noted repeatedly by other authors, there are few U.S. workers that are willing to accept these types of low-paying positions and difficult working conditions.
The CEA concluded "immigrants not merely help fuel the Nation's economic growth, but additionally have an overall positive effect on the American economy as a whole and on the income of native-born American workers." Based on the CEA, approximately 90 percent of U.S.-born workers experienced a rise in wages due to immigration. In its 1997 report, the NRC estimated that the annual wage gain due to immigration for U.S. workers was $10 billion each year. In 2007, the CEA estimated the gain at over $30 billion per year.
In addition to having a standard positive affect on the common wages of U.S. workers, a rise in immigrant workers also increases employment rates among native-born U.S. workers. According to a study predicated on U.S. Census Bureau data at the state level performed by the non-partisan research group Pew Hispanic Center, between 2000 and 2004 "there is a positive correlation between your increase in the foreign-born population and the employment of native-born workers in 27 states and the District of Columbia."
For example, the general public Policy Institute of California reported that California saw an increase in wages of U.S. natives by about four percent from 1990 to 2004 - a period of large influx of immigrants to hawaii - because of the complementary skills of immigrant workers and a rise in the demand for tasks performed by native workers.
Studies performed earlier in the decade by the Brookings Institution have shown that immigrant entrepreneurs and companies create additional jobs in the U.S. economy for U.S. citizens along with other immigrant workers.
