Caught in the Web: Economics of Immigration

Debate over immigration is a thicket of misinformation and irrational, uninformed opinions. Fear and racism are constantly masquerading as political and economic analysis. One of the best places on the web to turn to for solid facts on the subject is the Immigration Policy Center (IPC)—www.immigrationpolicy.org—based in Washington, D.C. There is a “Just the Facts” section (www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts) that provides statistics on migration, analyzes the relationship between immigration and job growth, and explains the impact of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on immigrants. The IPC also has a fine map of the United States (www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/immigration-by-state) that will tell you—with a touch of the browser—how many immigrants are in each state and how many of them are naturalized citizens. The IPC site also provides links to the group’s useful research reports, such as a study (www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/ca_immigration.pdf) coauthored with the Center for American Progress (CAP)—a center-left Washington, D.C. think tank—analyzing the economic consequences, for the state of California, of legalizing immigrants who are presently undocumented instead of deporting them. The IPC and CAP found that while legalizing immigrants had considerable economic benefits for California, mass deportation would be economically disastrous for the state, with devastating effects on employment, productivity, and tax revenues. The same two groups did a similar study showing how Arizona’s anti-immigrant legislation has hurt that state’s economy (www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/03/pdf/rising_tide_exec_summ.pdf), as well as another showing how immigration reform could raise wages for all American workers (www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/01/raising_the_floor.html).

For the business world’s pro-immigration take, it’s also worth tracking the work of Immigration Works USA (www.immigrationworksusa.org), which advances progressive immigration policies supported by business elites who want to benefit from immigrant labor. The organization is a coalition of business groups in twenty-five states. One of the best resources on the site is a page devoted to the “Economics of Immigration” (www.immigrationworksusa.org/index.php?p=90), which compiles myth-busting on immigration from groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (immigrants do not take jobs from Americans, they create new jobs) and the Brookings Institution (immigration raises the overall standards of living for all Americans). The page is rich with links to studies showing patterns of immigration; that migration to the United States is on a sharp decline, for instance, and how many Mexican migrants come versus how many leave. Other links show the economic impact of immigrant workers in twenty-five U.S. metropolitan areas, and states as varied as Minnesota, Oregon, North Carolina, Arizona, Texas, and Washington. The page also links to useful studies from the University of California, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Migration Policy Institute, all exploring the more controversial area of the labor market effects of immigrant workers—do they affect the wages and employment levels of native-born workers, and if so how? Sure, these business groups want to ensure a steady stream of workers, who—in some cases—they may wish to egregiously exploit. But the data, and the arguments, are still useful to immigrant workers and their advocates.

Immigration Politics and Internet Activism

For news and action updates on the politics of immigration, check out the websites of the Immigrant Solidarity Network (www.immigrantsolidarity.org) and the National Immigrant Justice Center (www.immigrantjustice.org). A good source of current immigrant workers’ rights actions is the Interfaith Worker Justice site (www.iwj.org), which provides updates on wage theft, as well as organizing campaigns by workers at Hyatt, T-Mobile, and other companies.

Though it is not always framed as a labor issue, the appalling conditions of immigrant detention centers—in which people accused of no crimes have died from a lack of access to health care—clearly have much to do with intimidating and policing the newest, and most vulnerable, group of workers. Robert Greenwald—the director of Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism...