Q&A of the Day – The Impact of Illegal Immigrants on Wages
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Social: @brianmuddradio
iHeartRadio: Use the Talkback feature – the microphone button on our station’s page in the iHeart app.
Today’s Entry: Brian, I heard you filling in for Mark Levin on Friday and your commentary on the cost of the illegal immigrants. I agree with your assessment but would like to add a huge cost of suppressed wages. It seems to me the current wave of illegal immigration started in the mid 90's and was backed by Democrats looking for potential voters. It was also supported by Republicans as a source for cheap (sub-minimum wage) labor. I reject the argument that illegals do the jobs that "Americans won't do". From personal experience I have seen how the wages in the construction industry have been suppressed. I was a foreman for a commercial company for three yrs. making $22.50 when I was replaced in 2007 by a Mexican who was making $9.50. As a contractor I can tell you that unless you use illegals you cannot compete in the multifamily (apartment) market. I can tell you from experience how the multifamily game is played. The illegal immigration situation is a stinking rotten mess that is supported by almost everyone except Trump and a few true conservative Republicans.
I have retired to Sebastian Fl. and am a big radio talk show fan. I have heard you several times before and appreciate your insights. I didn't realize you broadcast from S.E. Fla.. I look forward to tuning into your show.
Bottom Line: Among the many angles of the illegal immigration crisis and its impact on us is this angle. The impact on jobs and wages. Your anecdote and personal experience with this issue are proved accurate generally. It is a false narrative that we need illegal immigrants because of the jobs that “Americans won’t do”. This narrative has been tested many times over the years – including most recently in Florida following last year’s new immigration law which mandated E-Verify for all private employers with 25 or more employees. What evidence has shown is that Americans, and/or green card holders will work in agriculture, construction and related industries – should they be paid competitive wages. And there’s one demographic that’s the most negatively impacted. Black men.
In the previous decade a 90-page study conducted by The United States Commission on Civil Rights was produced with the results being shared with Congress and then-President Obama for the purpose of enacting policy accordingly. Consistent with the political skepticism expressed in today’s note – the corresponding policy never came. The findings of the study included these:
- Experts at our briefing testified that immigrant workers now make up approximately one-seventh of the American workforce, and they estimated that illegal workers account for one-third of the total immigrants now in the U.S.
- Illegal immigration to the United States in recent decades has tended to increase the supply of low-skilled, low-wage labor available in the U.S. labor market.
- About six in 10 adult black males have a high school diploma or less, and black men are disproportionately employed in the low-skilled labor market, where they are more likely to be in labor competition with immigrants.
- The average worker with a high school degree or less earns less today, adjusted for inflation, than someone with a similar education earned thirty-five years ago.
- Illegal immigration to the United States in recent decades has tended to depress both wages and employment rates for low-skilled American citizens, a disproportionate number of whom are black men.
So not only was there extensive evidence of work and wage suppression as a result of illegal immigration – at a time in which it was significantly less pervasive than it’s been over the past three years under the Biden administration, the most negatively impacted community is the Black community. As we know, a loss of work or income, especially in already low-income circumstances is also consistent with a corresponding rise in crime which has additional negative impacts on communities that are almost never discussed as part of the illegal immigration crisis.
At the same time as that study the CATO Institute studied the impact on wages. What they found was that for every 10% increase in illegal immigration in this country, there was a studied impact of overall wage depression of 3%-4%. In other words, it’s not a question as to if illegal immigrants negatively impact wages in addition to occupying jobs, it’s an evidenced fact. And as for the busting the narrative that the country just can’t run without illegal immigrants doing these jobs... That was a leading argument used in opposition to Florida’s immigration law with mandatory E-Verify last year. News outlets routinely covered how businesses would have to shut down without having the labor needed and there would be significant disruptions to the flow of goods like agricultural products. The law went into effect July 1st of last year and notice how none of that has happened.
The lack of a negative impact on business and production, as I discussed at the time, has to do with the employer threshold before the mandatory E-Verify kicks in, which is 25 employees. Some of that has to do with the fact that there are Americans, Floridians and green card holders who will do the work, whatever it is. And as evidenced in the studies I’ve cited, the biggest beneficiaries of the opportunities created by cracking down on illegal employment are Black communities. Incidentally this dynamic is a central issue in this election cycle as polls are showing Black support for President Biden well below previous levels. Many Black communities have seen resources and jobs shift to the benefit of illegal immigrants – especially in sanctuary cities and states. This specific dynamic of the illegal immigration crisis has the potential to decide this year’s presidential election.