Weekly Briefing

Time for a Reality Check on the Immigration Issue  

Rob Schofield, editor

Quick Take:

• Recent anti-immigrant nonsense emanating from the political wars deserves a response.
• A look at the facts and history surrounding the immigration debate shows that immigration is a serious issue, but not the extreme crisis it’s made out to be by some.
• There are responsible, common sense steps that can address the issue effectively. North Carolinians should demand action from the federal government

North Carolina’s public debate over immigration has reached new highs for hysteria and new lows for common decency. Inundated by the rants of radio blowhards and the commercials of fringe political candidates, many North Carolinians of varying political stripes have begun to lose their perspective when it comes to the question of how our state should respond to the influx of immigrants (especially given the fact that most of the decisions on the matter will be made in Washington). Indeed, even normally responsible media outlets and folks who think of themselves as progressives and humanitarians have allowed terms like “illegals” and other language of the hate groups and the fearful to creep into their headlines and lexicon.

This issue of the Weekly Briefing seeks to provide a “reality check” on the immigration debate by supplying readers with a reminder list of facts, talking points and responsible policy options on this challenging issue. 

#1 – Welcome to the Real World – According to immigration alarmists, North Carolina is being overrun by a flood of “illegal aliens.” A look at the data, however, reminds us that, in the big picture, North Carolina’s recent spike in immigration is neither unusual nor necessarily overwhelming.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data, North Carolina’s foreign born population in 2005 was 560,753, or about 6.7% of the total population. The national foreign born number (12.4%) was nearly twice as high. This number, in turn, is lower than at many other points in U.S. history. From 1860 to 1920, immigrants constituted between 13 and 15 percent of overall population.

Of course, North Carolina is not the only state to experience a large growth in immigration. The Census data show that twenty states plus the District of Columbia had higher foreign born populations. Nine states had foreign born populations that were at least twice the North Carolina rate. California’s was more than four times higher (27.2%). Similar trends are at work in Canada, Western Europe and even the Middle East, which together with the U.S., account for 79.5% of the world’s net immigration.      

#2 – Why Do They Come? Even a cursory look at the states and regions experiencing large immigrant booms provides an obvious reminder of why people risk so much to immigrate to a new country. The answers, of course, are economic opportunity and the chance at a better life. While proximity is a factor, it is not as important as the presence of jobs. Thus, while such traditional “gateway” states as California, Florida, New York and Texas remain the biggest “importers,” the second tier is not necessarily comprised of the states physically closest to the gateways. Indeed, it’s clear that immigrants often leapfrog over closer, but less prosperous states like Oklahoma, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, and even New Mexico on their way to economically healthier places like Colorado, Washington state, Illinois, Georgia, and North Carolina. This trend can also be detected in the fact that a high percentage of Mexican immigrants come not from border areas, but from the poorer states of the country’s southern region.  

Again, similar trends are evident in Canada, Europe and the Middle East where modern transportation and communication have combined with the globalizing economy and demographic patterns to lead millions of Africans and Asians to head for greener pastures in Ontario and British Columbia as well as France, Germany, Scandinavia and Ireland.   

#3 – What Do the Opponents Say? To hear nativist groups tell the story, America’s current immigration boom threatens the very fabric of the republic. Some xenophobes actually allege the existence of a kind of secret squatters’ plot by Mexicans to reclaim parts of the U.S. Other immigration opponents seek to conjure links between immigrants and “global terrorism.” Still others allege that immigrants will spread disease and other social ills. Despite having no actual examples, a North Carolina House candidate alleged last week that immigrants are endangering public health by using fake immunization records in order to enroll their children in school.

Such wild claims and irrational fears have accompanied virtually every wave of American immigration. During the depression of the 1840’s rioters in Boston and Philadelphia targeted Irish Catholics. In 1882, Congress passed the infamous “Chinese Exclusion Act” to bar immigration by all persons of Chinese origin. During the “Red Scare” of the 1920’s thousands of immigrants were harassed, jailed and deported without a hearing. World War II, of course, gave rise to the shameful internment of Japanese- Americans and the less well-remembered rejection of many Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. In the 1950’s a federal program specifically targeted Mexican immigrants for deportation.

#4 – What is the Real Impact of Immigration? The more serious and thoughtful critics of immigration shun the irrational talk of hidden conspiracies and ugly, racist overtones and instead focus on the issues of the economy and the strain on government. These opponents argue that the recent rapid growth in immigration (at least by those who are undocumented) depresses wages, increases unemployment, and places an excessive strain on public services.              

A look at the facts, however, does little to confirm these popular assertions. For instance, one recent national report that closely examined the relationship between the performance of the native-worker job market and the amount of immigrant labor found no discernible connection during either the 1990’s boom or the post-2000 recession and recovery. In other words, on the whole, the overall success of native-born workers was largely unaffected by the recent immigration wave – at least in part because such a high percentage of immigrants were concentrated a few lower paying economic sectors (agriculture, cleaning, construction and food preparation). Moreover, millions of native-born American benefited tremendously as a result of the economic activity generated by immigrants. 

Meanwhile, though anecdotes abound, there is little concrete evidence that immigrants have a net negative effect on public services. Not only are immigrants – even the undocumented – employed at extremely high rates and paying many taxes in many ways (e.g., payroll, sales, fuel, property (via rent)), common sense tells us that the undocumented actually use fewer public services for fear of the consequences of contact with public officials. Many analysts have identified immigrant workers as one of the keys to maintaining the health of the Social Security Trust Fund as the American population ages over the coming decades. Some estimates place the current annual contribution of the undocumented to the Trust Fund at as high as $7 billion. Under any circumstance, mass deportation of the kind proposed by some zealots is certain to cost far more than any net savings likely to be reaped through a reduction in demand for services. 

#5 – So, What Do We Do? While state officials have precious little within their control, three main areas cry out for attention of North Carolinians who hope to advance a modern and moral national immigration policy:

• Expand and Improve Legal Immigration – All sides agree that the biggest current problem with immigration is the growth in the undocumented population. No society is well-served by having a large subsection of its population living fearfully in the shadows. The U.S. clearly needs a new and fair plan that clears decades-long backlogs and provides a path to citizenship for those who are here. Such a process should be rigorous and fair, with no overnight amnesty and no “cutting in line.”
• Strengthen Enforcement and Target Employers Who Violate the Law – While improved border security and immigration law enforcement are important, they are only a small part of the solution. Most of the growth in undocumented immigration stems, of course, from the irresponsible behavior of American corporations. Any successful immigration reform effort must include tougher penalties and law enforcement against employers who violate the law and resources to assure that due process is afforded to all employers and immigrants.
• Protect All Workers – A vast proportion of the current immigration problem stems from the federal government’s unwillingness to guarantee fair treatment for all workers. By mandating a significant hike in the federal minimum wage, expanding heath care and taking other steps to assure that all full-time workers can earn a decent living, the U.S. would do much to quell demand for immigrant labor. A worker visa program that assures decent employment terms and fair treatment for immigrants determined to be necessary by independent analysts would also be extremely helpful.

Going Forward – North Carolinians, like most of the rest of their fellow Americans, must come to grips with the fact that their state and nation are changing. The twin tides of a global economy and demographic change simply cannot be resisted in any fundamental way – no matter how passionate or hateful the rhetoric or tactics employed. A better and more responsible approach involves a reassertion of some traditional American values: human rights, due process, fair treatment for all workers, and a commitment to our heritage as the world’s melting pot. ~     

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 30th, 2006 at 12:24 pm and is filed under Weekly Briefing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.