Froma Harrop points out the impact of illegal immigration on the working poor in a column which appeared in the Houston Chronicle [www.chron.com]:
(excerpt from the column)
Advocates of open borders — both defenders of illegal immigration and cheap-labor businesses — have run a campaign to demonize E-Verify precisely because it does the job. It enables enforcement of the law without scenes of ICE agents hauling away poor foreigners in handcuffs.
We still await a comprehensive immigration plan, which would deal with the millions of illegals already established in this country. A “path to citizenship” for this group would be reasonable, but only if it’s the last amnesty. That is, the E-Verify system would have to be in place so employers can’t ignore the ban on hiring undocumented workers in the future.
The advocates hold that rather than stop the flow of undocumented workers, the United States should just keep legalizing everyone.
Their argument is as follows: Wages for low-skilled jobs are dismal because employers can exploit illegal workers. Make them legal, and companies would have to improve pay and working conditions for all.
There’s some truth in that, but you can’t get around basic labor economics. From heart surgeon to street sweeper, every worker is subject to the law of supply and demand. The more people there are after the same number of jobs, the less anyone has to pay them.
The United States accepts 2 million legal immigrants a year, more than the rest of the world combined. No American has to apologize for drawing the line at illegal immigration.
Our working poor deserve the same protections against unfair competition that our doctors get. And in this economy, their need has grown desperate.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6424916.html
http://www.fromaharrop.com
Harrop is right. Illegal immigration lowers wages. That is why United Farm Workers founder Caesar Chavez was a strong advocate of immigration enforcement.
Progressive radio talk host Thom Hartmann notes:
The reason why thirty years ago United Farm Workers' Union (UFW) founder Caesar Chavez fought against illegal immigration, and the UFW turned in illegals during his tenure as president, was because Chavez, like progressives since the 1870s, understood the simple reality that labor rises and falls in price as a function of availability.
In 1969, Chavez and members of the UFW marched through the Imperial and Coachella Valley to the border of Mexico to protest growers' use of illegal aliens as temporary replacement workers during a strike. Joining him on the march were both the Reverend Ralph Abernathy and U.S. Senator Walter Mondale. Chavez and the UFW would often report suspected illegal aliens who served as temporary replacement workers as well as who refused to unionize to the INS.
Working Americans have always known this simple equation: More workers, lower wages. Fewer workers, higher wages.
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/06/03/con06114.html
