This comes from Republican Senate staff:
The level of immigration in total numerical terms is currently at an all-time high, compressing wages and reducing employment (for both US-born and immigrant workers). Immigration levels have quadrupled from less than 10 million in 1970 to more than 40 million today – a period of long-term wage stagnation (real wages are lower today than in 1973). As a share of the population, the percentage of foreign-born will exceed all historical records beginning in eight years’ time and will keep exceeding all historical records every subsequent decade. (By contrast, after the last peak year in 1910, the foreign-born share fell for the ensuing six decades).
In 1970, less than 1 in 21 residents were foreign-born; today it is almost 1 in 7. The annual rate of immigration is almost double its level from the Reagan years and more than triple its level from the post-WWII boom years.
Meanwhile, while 1 in 15 men aged 25-54 were not working in 1970, it is now 1 in 6; the total number of women aged 16-65 not working has increased 30 percent while their population has increased less than half that amount.
The Census Bureau projects that the total size of the immigration increase between now and 2025 will be 14 million – or a new population 54 times the size of Orlando, Florida. 10 million of those will have green cards which confer access to federal benefits, lifetime work permits, and the ability to obtain citizenship.
The wave of new arrivals, while cutting wage rates for corporations, will make it harder for many present residents to find work – particularly current immigrant workers looking to achieve middle class stability. The documented effects of uncontrolled immigration on black workers are particularly acute. Adding to the difficulties for U.S. workers are reckless guest worker programs that are too-easily exploited by employers.
A pro-wage, pro-worker, pro-middle class immigration policy is based on the needs of everyday workers – not lobbyists – and will expand social stability and economic security. Moreover, this is what the American people desperately want. The extreme position is to continue expanding record-breaking immigration levels to never-before-seen heights, and is an outcome welcomed by only 7% of the country. So for all of the histrionics of D.C./Wall Street elites, they are increasingly out of touch with public opinion and the concerns of working families hoping to send their kids to good schools, to have them graduate with good job prospects, and to see them earn a good living.
The poll data are overwhelming; politicians will disregard public opinion on this issue at their peril:
* Gallup (1/29/15): By a more than 5-to-1 margin (39% vs. 7%), Americans who are dissatisfied with current immigration levels want less rather than more
* Pew (2012): 69% say we should “restrict and control people coming to live in our country more than we do now” (including 59% of Hispanics)
* Reuters (8/7/14): By a nearly 3-to-1 margin (45% vs. 17%), Americans think immigration rates should be reduced, not increased
* Princeton Survey Research Associates (6/23/13): 61% say that there “should be restrictions” on the number of STEM-related foreign workers allowed to enter the U.S.
* Gallup (6/8/14): By a 2-to-1 margin (41% vs. 22%), Americans think immigration should be decreased rather than increased
* The Polling Company (8/14/14): By a staggering 10-to-1 margin (75% vs. 8%), Americans believe that a business seeking workers should raise wages and improve working conditions before hiring new labor from abroad
* Paragon Insights (9/2014): By an almost 5-to-1 margin (74% vs. 15%), likely voters said they would be more likely to vote for a Republican who said “the American people are right to be concerned about their jobs and wages, and elected officials should put the needs of American workers first.” 70% said they would be more likely (vs. just 18% who would be less likely) to vote for a Republican who said that “the first goal of immigration policy needs to be getting unemployed Americans back to work – not importing more low-wage workers to replace them.”
Then there is this: “If U.S. businesses have trouble finding workers, what should happen?” Note that the responses cut across political and demographic lines. Particularly noteworthy is the overwhelming consensus among African-Americans. Liberal politicians think they are too dumb to understand their own interests, I suppose. But isn’t an 86% to 3% consensus hard to ignore? Click to enlarge.
No wonder Scott Walker has changed his mind about immigration!
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