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A closer
look at myths about immigration
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
As was
explained through this column in the issue of April 27, immigration has
become a hotly debated issue surrounded by a variety of myths that
inflame emotions while doing little to move reasonable people to search
for solutions.
In an effort
to break through some of the myths, the Indiana Catholic Conference has
provided pastors, as well as the editors of the diocesan newspapers in
our state, with facts to counterpoint the more common sound bites.
Pastors have been asked to make this material part of their parish
bulletins. Diocesan newspapers have been offering slightly expanded
versions of the same material.
The reaction
expected has not yet reached my desk. In view of the fact there has been
a major shift in the ever-present election year rhetoric, perhaps that
should be no surprise. As we shake our heads at the rising cost of food
and watch the cost of fuel increase to levels people would never have
believed possible just a few years ago, immigration seems to have been
momentarily pushed to the side. Yet, the myths about immigration need to
be addressed.
Repetition is
an accepted pedagogical tool. With that in mind, I invite you to take
yet another look at the myths about immigration. That the
ever-increasing numbers of people from other countries crossing our
borders is a challenge cannot be contested. The way we address those
challenges needs to be stripped of prevailing myths.
The April 27
issue of The Catholic Moment called attention to one such myth:
Immigrants take jobs and opportunities away from Americans.
No doubt
there are situations where native-born people, unsuccessful in looking
for employment, are resentful because jobs they would be willing to take
are being filled by immigrants. In the big picture, however, immigrants
are needed to sustain the American standard of living. The United States
Department of Labor projects that by 2010, just two years from now, the
United States will have created 22 million new jobs. If that proves to
be accurate, 9 million more jobs will be created than the number of
native-born workers entering the job market. It is projected that this
gap will increase after 2010 as the baby boomers reach retirement age
and leave the work force.
During the
1990s, half of all new workers were foreign-born. They have been filling
gaps left by native-born workers in both the high- and low-skill ends of
the spectrum. The reality is that immigrants fill jobs in key sectors,
they start their own businesses, and they contribute to the economy.
Foreign-born
workers do have an impact on native-born workers, of course.
Foreign-born workers typically have different skill sets than
native-born workers. If immigrants’ skills complement those of
native-born workers, then the productivity and wages of those
native-born workers rise. If immigrants’ skills substitute for those of
native-born workers, then the wages of those native-born workers may
fall. Research shows that both dynamics are in effect in the U.S.
economy: Immigrants slightly depress the wages of native-born workers
without a high school degree — about 10 percent of the native-born labor
force — but immigrants have a positive impact on the wages of 90 percent
of the native-born work force. Native-born workers see total annual
income gains of between $30 billion and $80 billion from immigration.
Meanwhile,
our immigration laws do not reflect the demographic and economic
realities. They should be reconciled with the economic laws of supply
and demand. True immigration reform would address a range of work force
realities, among which would be legalizing a work force that is here to
stay, providing more legal visas for workers to come in the future, and
providing for the temporary employment of foreign workers who help
American employers in sectors of the economy that provide seasonal jobs.
A question
few seem to raise is whether native-born Americans would take the jobs
currently being filled by immigrants, documented as well as
undocumented, at the pay scales accepted by immigrants. What adjustments
in our lifestyles would be demanded if undocumented immigrants were
deported and the jobs left unfilled by their departure were filled by
native-born Americans with their demands for higher wages? There are
serious social justice issues involved, yet the fact is the comfortable
lifestyle of Americans is made possible by the low-paying jobs filled by
immigrants.
We cannot
separate the fact that an aging population and low birth rates have
resulted in a substantial decline in “replacement workers” that are
needed in the work force. In a birth control culture, we are not the
only developed country that has come to rely on immigrants to fill its
labor needs.
Do immigrants
take jobs and employment opportunities away from Americans? In the big
picture, immigrants fill the gap between jobs to be filled and
native-born Americans entering the work force. Moreover, immigrants take
jobs native-born workers will not accept at current wage levels.
Here’s
another myth addressed in the May 4 issue of The Catholic Moment:
Immigrants don’t pay taxes. In fact, immigrants, both documented and
undocumented, do pay taxes. Sources vary as to amounts, but a range of
studies find that immigrants pay between $90 billion and $140 billion a
year in federal, state and local taxes.
That
undocumented peoples pay taxes is evidenced by the Social Security
Administration’s “suspense file” (taxes that cannot be matched in
worker’s name and Social Security number), which grew by $20 billion
between 1990 and 1998 and now totals approximately $420 billion from the
earnings of immigrants who are not in a position to claim benefits.
The majority
of undocumented immigrants pay income taxes using an Individual Taxpayer
Identification Number (ITIN), which the IRS has issued to more than
eight million people without regard to immigration status. According to
the Government Accounting Office, a significant but not precisely known
number of ITIN holders are undocumented resident aliens.
In addition
to state income taxes, all immigrants, including the undocumented, pay
the same sales taxes as the rest of us do. Whether they own homes or
not, property taxes are passed on to them through rent. The National
Research Council estimates that the economic benefit of immigration runs
as high as $10 billion a year. The bottom line is that immigrants
contribute more in taxes and Social Security payments than they consume
in public resources.
The fact is
that immigrants contribute to the economy by taking jobs and performing
services vital to our way of life. And, they pay taxes.
While there
may be no easy way to fix our broken immigration system, efforts to do
so should not be based on myths. |
