Here’s the story of an anonymous Italian immigrant at the beginning of the last century.
“I was told that the streets in America are paved with gold. But when I arrived here, I saw three things: First, that the streets are not paved with gold; second, of all that they are not even paved at all; and third, I was the one who was going to pave them.”
This sad monologue comes to mind every time the topic arises of undocumented immigrants who allegedly hang heavily around the necks of full-fledged American citizens. Recently, Steven Camarota, an expert at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington D.C., presented the fruits of his labor to the public.
Camarota studied the dynamics of the U.S. labor market over the past five years. His main conclusion was a refutation of the assertion that undocumented immigrants in the United States fill jobs that Americans do not want, meaning low-paying, unskilled labor in the construction and restaurant businesses, in the food processing industry, in garbage collection, and in other occupations that have little appeal.
Citing data from the census bureau, Camarota writes that while the contingent of unemployed Americans who do not have higher or specialized education is growing steadily, only 9 percent of newly created positions in this sector fall to them.
From 2000 to 2005, the number of undocumented workers engaged in unskilled labor increased by 1.6 million. During this same period, the number of Americans who left the workforce (those who are not working and are no longer looking for work) totaled 1.5 million.
Altogether, Camarota estimates that the number of low-qualified immigrant workers in the United States totals 11.6 million – half of these people are undocumented.
At the same time, he admits that he only uncovered circumstantial evidence that undocumented workers “deprive” Americans of work. According to his data, the vast majority (on average more than 70 percent) of positions for unskilled workers are still held by Americans.
Camarota also acknowledges that the unemployment rate for undocumented workers is twice as high as the average for the country – 10 percent versus 5 percent. So he concludes that the picture is more complicated than it appears to be at first.
During the presentation, the audience voiced the favorite argument of those who favor severe measures to combat illegal immigration – that illegal immigrants cost America more than the sum of taxes that they pay. The author agreed with this opinion; however, he made the following qualification: “It’s true that low-paying categories of illegal workers contribute less in taxes, however, they do not use the social security system and they do not have medical insurance. If an immigrant with a higher education uses over the course of his life free services costing $89,000 more than he pays in taxes, then for an undocumented worker with secondary education this figure is only $31,000. In addition to this, better educated immigrants are more profitable from a budgetary standpoint.”
Let’s add in the cost of services for illegal immigrants, including their detention and the deportation process. Furthermore, state governments and the federal government have different accounting methods for illegal immigrants: services are paid for out of the budget of the former and taxes mainly flow into the budget of the latter. Finally, the material value of work completed by undocumented immigrants – those same buildings that will bring the owners of the building income for many decades without fail – is not taken into account in any of the balance sheets.
In Washington, a press conference dedicated to the National Day of Action on Immigrant Rights took place on April 27. It was conducted by the largest union organization in the United States — the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor/Congress of Industrial Organizations), along with a number of human rights organizations.
Vice-president of the AFL-CIO Linda Chavez-Thompson, the main speaker at the press conference, spoke in favor of comprehensive immigration reform. “Immigrants,” she stated, “should not be considered second class citizens. Persistent work and hope are not crimes.”
Chavez-Thompson and other speakers emphasized that half-measures will not bring about the desired result.
The abrupt reversal of the union’s position is particularly noteworthy. In their day, unions invested quite a bit in toughening immigration policy based specifically on the fact that immigrants took jobs away from full-fledged citizens of the country. They have now acknowledged that prohibitive measures lead only to the greater powerlessness of illegal immigrants and, as a result, to the lowering of wage levels and the worsening of conditions in general.
The leaders of the AFL-CIO believe that it’s not the worker who is guilty, but the employer who has used the undocumented immigrant’s situation for their own advantage.
