Oklahoma's Republican governor wants to support the importation of low-wage immigrants to earn decent wages and salaries locally for Oklahomans and their children.
“I want to create an opportunity to deliver the best [foreign] “Bring Talent to Oklahoma” Governor Kevin Stitt said On the Thursday before Labor Day weekend, after a state-funded task force recommended that state legislatures pass legislation to help employers hire immigrants instead of Americans, he tweeted:
We need the best nurses, the best engineers, the best accountants, the best construction workers, and the best teachers. If they're willing to come here and work hard, let's match employers and employees.
We hope that the Legislature will pursue recommendations that reflect that intent.
Provided by Oklahoma Establishment Media mute, Passive, Favorableor Eruption Coverage of Stitt's outsourcing report.
But voter reaction to Stitt's Mike Bloomberg-like declaration was immediate, direct and hostile.
Many business groups say they need immigrants to fill jobs. Wage-related evidence of Labor shortage Because there is no evidence that desirable competition between employers in Oklahoma escalated into fistfights or other violence.
In a national labor market, employers compete for the jobs of national workers by offering increased wages. In return, voters protect risk-taking employers with bankruptcy laws, low taxes, and strong property rights. This self-contained market allows for rapid feedback between employers, employees, voters, and politicians, helping to democratically balance the conflicting interests of each group.
The lack of a labor shortage is evidenced by slowing wage growth in Oklahoma. [in Oklahoma] Wage growth outpaced the national average of 3.2%…Average weekly wages in Oklahoma’s three largest counties fell below the national average of $1,332 in the second quarter of 2023.” According to To the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A lack of good opportunities is also contributing to a rise in drug deaths in Oklahoma. The state's health department say:
From 2019 to 2022, the number of fentanyl overdose deaths increased 12-fold, from 50 in 2019 to 609 in 2022. In 2022, fentanyl was involved in more than four in five opioid-related overdose deaths, compared to approximately 10-20% per year prior to 2020.
The large influx of immigrants Serious damage Canada, for example, generally treats immigrants differently than its residents: When a small number of immigrants fill local jobs, they usually don't completely replace Americans.
But fewer immigrants also mean average wages fall because employers do not have to compete for new jobs, and immigrants are more likely to work longer hours for lower wages, even for abusive employers, than to be forced to return themselves and their children to poorer countries.
New immigrants also help stave off labor shortages that are forcing employers to invest in software, farm machinery, robots and other productivity-boosting tools that will help Americans be more productive in a changing economy, earn more money, buy homes and start families.
An influx of immigrants would favor large cities over small towns because most immigrants would prefer to settle in metropolitan areas with other immigrants. This concentration would drive up housing costs for Americans living in big cities.
The influx of cheap labor into Oklahoma is a good thing for business owners and investors because it increases the size and profit pool of the local economy, even as wages fall. For example, Stitt owns a mortgage company that stands to benefit from more renters and homebuyers in Oklahoma.
Stitt's company came under heavy criticism during his 2018 run for office. “Gateway's performance may have been worse than average, but it wasn't so extreme that it was viewed as questionable,” CEO Stephen Curry said in a 2018 interview. Interview In an interview with The Associated Press, Stitt was up for reelection in 2022.
Stitt Report The Republican-controlled Congress has proposed measures to be taken to attract foreign immigrants to both blue-collar and white-collar jobs.
“Oklahoma can lead the way by providing employers and internationally trained talent with tools and resources to help them understand visa types, legal requirements, costs and the credentialing process,” said the report, titled “Oklahoma Work Permit and Visa Task Force.”
The report calls for welcoming not only legal immigrants, but also those whose legal status is in dispute, including undocumented immigrants seeking asylum, immigrants on temporary visas and economic migrants imported through Biden's parole program.
The report does not outline plans to help Oklahoma businesses hire Americans from other states. Collapsed People who have been taken out of the labor force by migration, marginalization, drugs, and mass layoffs.
Stitt appointed three people to the 11-person commission, which included a representative from the Mexican government, which has a policy of encouraging Mexicans to move to the U.S. Reported August 27:
Mexican Consul Edurne Pineda, a member of the task force, said the recommendations could be game-changing. “We will continue to work with migrants to put together public policies and recommendations to different authorities in the state to address their realities in the best way possible,” Pineda said.
The committee urged state legislatures to make it easier for blue-collar immigrants to enter the country. Professional License It was aimed at people working in skilled trades such as plumbing, electrical work, nursing and medicine.
Expanding occupational licensing opportunities to foreign nationals could provide a pathway for students with DACA status, known as “Dreamers.” Federal law prohibits issuing occupational licenses to foreign nationals but allows states to enact laws that qualify them.
Business lobbyists are pressuring states to grant occupational licenses to illegal immigrants, undercutting wages for skilled Americans in a variety of jobs.
The Oklahoma committee called for increasing the use of foreign graduates to fill white-collar jobs needed by Oklahoma graduates through an expansion of the J-1 and H-1B visa programs, a plan that would lower wages for a variety of jobs, including media-related jobs, because it would reduce the market power of all American graduates.
Collaborate with community organizations, higher education institutions and other relevant agencies to increase the number of cap-exempt H1B visas in high-demand sectors.
Facilitate J-1 intra-company exchange programs between international locations where Oklahoma has (or could have) relationships and locations with talent sources for high-demand occupations (teachers, STEM researchers, nurses, etc.) According to Bridge USA, Oklahoma had 1,069 J-1 visas in 2022 and Texas had 11,435 J-1 visas.
The plan could be a boon for local universities: In many states, immigrants pay tuition fees to get temporary work permits.
The committee called for granting driver's licenses to immigrants, a goal that many business groups lobby for because it would allow immigrants to work in a wider variety of jobs that were once reserved for Americans.
National Immigration Reform Organization Hit “Governor Stitt's attempt to make Oklahoma a sanctuary state is strikingly similar to U.S. Senator Ranford's (R-Okla.) attempt to turn the entire country into a sanctuary for illegal immigrants through the Senate Border Bill,” Stitt's report states.
“We want cheap labor,” User X tweeted. Nene.
“Wow, so you're replacing population with immigrants?” said one Twitter user. Dan Jay.
Immigration has become increasingly unpopular among Republicans and Democrats.
The report Stitt cited was drafted with the help of corporate-backed advocacy groups such as the American Immigration Council, an offshoot of the American Immigration Lawyers Association that works closely with FWD.us, a lobbying group for West Coast consumer economy investors who made their fortunes on Wall Street, founded by Mark Zuckerberg and other wealthy investors.
Many Republican politicians welcome immigrant workers, consumers and renters because they represent a huge subsidy to employers, retailers and landlords.
Progressives support immigration not only because it transfers wealth and opportunity to foreigners, but also because it helps business allies.
Progressive politicians welcome immigrants because they bring the chaotic diversity needed to split the political and cultural power of middle-class Americans. “No country or society has ever tried to build a democracy as large and diverse as ours — one that includes people from all parts of the world over many decades — and the world is watching to see if we can actually do it,” former President Barack Obama said at the Democratic National Convention in August.
Since January 2021, President Joe Biden and his lieutenants have been successful in importing or accepting. Approximately 10 million Legal immigrants, illegal immigrants, semi-legal immigrants, and temporary immigrants for economic purposes.
Extractive immigration policy is an economic strategy; Helped They are misleading investors by inflating real estate prices and lowering American wages.
The surge has been welcomed by business groups because it will reduce blue- and white-collar pay for Americans and ease market pressures for investment in productivity-boosting technology, core states and overseas markets.
Biden's immigration relaxation policies are lengthening the list of problems for Americans. Homelesslow wages, The shrinking middle classSlowing innovation, Decline Blue-collar worker life expectancy,spread povertyincreasing number of deaths Drugs,and A growing sense of alienation Among young people.
As protests against Stitt's outsourcing plans grew, he tried to shift the conversation in tweets to possible tax cuts.
