America is full. In addition to the ongoing wave of illegal immigration, the country has welcomed 36 million legal immigrants since 1989 (68 million since 1965), and its foreign-born population is on the decline. Recorded 51.6 million people. Each year, the United States issues 1.1 million green cards, 1 million guest worker visas, 1.1 million international student visas. This level of immigration has transformed the country in unprecedented ways over the past few generations.
The real debate should focus on how much immigration can be reduced. Unfortunately, influential forces are connected to President Trump's donors. Migration team leader The United States is pushing to expand the number of foreign workers even though it already has more than enough foreign workers.
Eight years into the MAGA movement, conservatives shouldn't have to play defense to stop further immigration growth after four years of Biden's disastrous policies.
Calls for more foreign workers are coming from a variety of sources. Elon Muskadvocates for an increase in foreign worker visas and green cards. The “tech bros” even persuaded President Trump to go along with Mitt Romney's half-baked proposal.Stapling the green card to the diploma“” for international students.
We don't need any more foreign workers.
After the election, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) emphasized: declared“We need more work visas,” he said as if it were an unwavering truth. But the idea of a foreign worker shortage exists only among those who think Americans should be left aside and new jobs reserved for foreigners.
In fact, all net U.S. employment growth since 2019 has gone to foreign-born workers. Heritage Foundation economist E. J. Antoni says that over the past year, native-born workers have lost a net 773,000 jobs, while foreign-born workers have lost more than 1 million jobs. He points out that he has acquired it.
Compared to pre-pandemic times, the foreign-born workforce has increased by 3.7 million people, while the native-born workforce has decreased by 873,000. These numbers cast doubt on the theory that the United States needs more foreign workers.
What started as an argument that Americans don't do manual labor has evolved into claims that Americans don't work in accounting, engineering, computers, or nursing. This belief creates a self-fulfilling momentum that works against Americans in many industries. As more industries become saturated with workers from India and other countries accustomed to low wages, wages will fall, especially since government policies often allow them to be paid without working. Americans are becoming increasingly alienated.
Indian contracting companies such as Infosys, HCL, Wipro, Cognizant and Tata are leveraging the H-1B, L-1, F-1 and optional practical training visa pipeline to Silicon Valley and US technology companies. It provides a large supply of cheap labor. This approach not only fires American workers, but also treats many new Indian employees as well. indentured labor. Over the past few decades, 71% of job openings Foreign workers work in Silicon Valley, but 74% of American STEM graduates Unable to secure employment in STEM fields.
As industries such as technology and computers become saturated with Indian workers, a culture of parochialism and discrimination against Americans develops. In October, a federal jury found Cognizant, long the largest recipient of H-1B visas, guilty of discriminating against U.S. IT workers. In a California-based discrimination lawsuit, Palmer v. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporationevidence reveals that technology companies are actively firing American employees and replacing them with H-1B workers, primarily from India.
The population of Indian nationals in the United States has increased 13 times since 1980. Indian citizens consistently rank second in the number of green cards obtained each year, with more than 100,000 issued each year. Additionally, there are 330,000 international students from India studying in the United States. Which countries do Republican donors believe are still underfunded?
Toward a more balanced approach
Economic policy goals, including tax, regulatory, welfare, and immigration policies, should focus on bringing American workers with side jobs back into the workforce. However, one of the main arguments for accepting so many immigrants is the perceived lack of available workers. This narrative ignores the significant increase in working-age Americans (ages 16 to 64) who are not participating in the labor force. These individuals are no longer actively seeking work and are therefore not counted as unemployed.
The combination of welfare incentives and wage suppression through immigration prevents an entire generation of workers from re-entering the labor force. According to Immigration Research Center“If the labor force included the same proportion of U.S.-born men (ages 16-64) in 2023 as it did in 1960, there would be an additional 9.5 million U.S.-born men in the labor force. Even if the share returns to 2000 levels, the workforce will still increase by 4.8 million people.
Rather than flooding the market with cheaper labor and further discouraging sideline workers, policymakers should consider a more balanced approach. A combination of immigration reform and welfare reform could encourage Americans to get back to work and reverse these harmful trends.
We hear all the time about the alleged STEM worker shortage, but as Steve Camarota, a labor scholar at the Center for Immigration Studies, points out: important questions: “If Employers Want More STEM Talent, Why Are They Lowering the Compensation Offered?” According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, STEM worker compensation in 2023 will actually be It was 7.1% lower than in 2019. If the labor market is tight, it is not for Americans but for a growing class of Third World imports who are willing to work for lower wages. .
Congress prohibited the immigration of contract laborers for just cause in 1891. Sections 3 and 4 of Immigration Act of 1891 Companies and travel agencies are prohibited from advertising or soliciting immigrants with promises of employment. The Founders envisioned a system that would attract productive immigrants who would assimilate into the American political system and work freely, rather than one that would function as a foreign labor factory designed to drive down American wages. I did.
As President Trump stated during his 2016 campaign, “A new immigration commission will roll out a series of new reforms to keep immigration levels, measured as a share of the population, within historical norms and increase new immigration.” It's time to take control by raising wages and making sure American workers have available jobs first. ”
President Trump made these promises before a record influx of immigrants under the Biden administration and before all new jobs were filled by foreigners. Now is the time to fulfill these promises and restore immigration to historical norms. Eight years into the MAGA movement, conservatives shouldn't have to play defense to stop further immigration growth after four years of Biden's disastrous policies.
