The Economic Reality Of Tough Immigration Laws

[struggle4progress]

October 8, 2011

... The immigration issue is often debated in terms of justice, rights and the protection of our borders, but there's a business story to be told as well. The question is: Can the U.S. economy really function without undocumented workers?

Gordon Hanson, an economist specializing in the impacts of immigration, studies the reality side of things at University of California-San Diego. He says that for decades there has been an unwritten social contract that says the U.S. isn't going to make it easy for immigrants to get in; there will be physical barriers and it will cost time, money and personal risk.

"What that did in effect was to select out people who weren't serious, to select out people for whom the opportunity of being in the United States didn't matter that much," Hanson tells weekends on All Things Considered guest host Robert Smith.

This policy was good for businesses and the workers who made it across the border. It created an ideal workforce of individuals focused on working, as long they were able to produce identification, valid or not, Hanson says ...

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/08/141183030/can-the-u-s-economy-really-function-without-undocumented-workers?ps=cprs

[dkf]

1. Which is why poor citizens can't compete.

Illegal immigrants work harder for less and they won't rat you out for substandard conditions.

It's a great way for the elites to make more money.

[SixthSense]

2. The question needs to be turned around

It should be "Can the US economy really function with undocumented workers?"

And the answer, IMO is: only in the short term, until enough poor Americans are displaced that it becomes a negative-sum game supporting out-of-work Americans (who also aren't gaining work experience, who also aren't saving for their futures, etc.).

[dkf]

3. Yup. You can't argue against outsourcing and support illegal workers.