AMERICAN JOBS IN PERIL: The Impact of UNCONTROLLED IMMIGRATION

AMERICAN JOBS IN PERIL: The Impact of UNCONTROLLED IMMIGRATION


House Judiciary Republicans Hold Immigration Forum on Capitol Hill
On Thursday, November 19, Republican Members of the House Judiciary Committee held a forum entitled “American Jobs in Peril: The Impact of Uncontrolled Immigration.” The forum allowed several experts to offer testimony regarding the negative consequences that unrestricted mass immigration – both legal and illegal – has had on American workers.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX) opened the hearing by discussing data that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had released earlier in the week. Smith pointed out that, while the nationwide unemployment rate has increased more than 60 percent from Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 to FY 2009, the number of criminal arrests, criminal indictments, criminal convictions, and administrative arrests of illegal alien workers as a result of ICE worksite enforcement operations had all decreased by at least 58% during that same time period. (House Judiciary Committee – Minority Press Release, November 18, 2009). Smith argued that with 16 million Americans out of work, the Obama administration should be increasing worksite enforcement to free up jobs held by the estimated eight million illegal aliens currently working in the United States.
Four expert witnesses testified at the hearing. The first was Dr. Carol Swain, a professor of Political Science and Law at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Swain’s testimony focused on the unemployment rates of African Americans and native-born Hispanics – two groups she said were particularly hard-hit by the current recession. Dr. Swain noted that “[r]acial and ethnic minorities are overrepresented among Americans suffering from high levels of unemployment,” and added that “[i]t is this group of native-born workers who are most adversely impacted by competition from unauthorized workers.” Dr. Swain then called on “Democrats and Republicans, members of the Congressional Black and Congressional Hispanic Caucuses to join forces in pressing for the enforcement of existing immigration laws and regulations already on the books.” The professor recommended that E-Verify – the online, electronically operated system that allows employers to quickly and easily confirm the work authorization status of their new hires – “should be made mandatory and expanded across the nation.”
OBAMA AND THE LA RAZA DEMS HAVE SABOTAGED E-VERIFY ENDLESSLY AS THEY HAVE JOBS FOR AMERICAN BORN.
The professor recommended that E-Verify – the online, electronically operated system that allows employers to quickly and easily confirm the work authorization status of their new hires – “should be made mandatory and expanded across the nation.”
Camarota noted that, over the past four decades, the United States has “witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of immigrants (both legal and illegal) arriving.” Camarota pointed out that “almost all economists agree that less-educated workers have done very poorly in the labor market over the last four decades as immigration has increased.”

Steven A. Camarota, the Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies, was the next witness to testify. Camarota noted that, over the past four decades, the United States has “witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of immigrants (both legal and illegal) arriving.” Camarota pointed out that “almost all economists agree that less-educated workers have done very poorly in the labor market over the last four decades as immigration has increased.” Echoing Dr. Swain’s testimony, Camarota then highlighted “significant research showing that immigration has reduced employment and wages for less-educated natives.” Camarota also dismissed the claims of special interest groups that have advocated for amnesty and large-scale increases in legal immigration, pointing out that “[t]here is no evidence of a labor shortage at the bottom end of the labor market.”
Roy Beck, President of NumbersUSA, testified next and highlighted three “key numbers.” The first number was eight million, the Pew Hispanic Center’s estimate as to the number of illegal foreign workers holding American jobs. (Pew Hispanic Center, April 14, 2009). Beck’s second number was 75,000, the estimated number of permanent work permits issued to working-age immigrants in the month of October. (DHS – Office of Immigration Statistics, March 2009). The third number was 190,000, the number of American jobs eliminated in the month of October. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 6, 2009). Accordingly, Beck argued, the federal “government added 75,000 more permanent workers to compete with 16 million unemployed Americans for 190,000 FEWER U.S. jobs.” (Testimony, November 19, 2009).
The final witness to testify at the forum was Jerry Kammer, a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies. Kammer highlighted two separate reports discussing how local labor markets were affected by immigration enforcement. (See reports from July 2009 and March 2009). Kammer discussed how worksite enforcement operations conducted at seven meat packing plants in seven states had resulted in the arrests of thousands of illegal alien workers, providing “an opportunity to test the claim, often heard in the immigration debate, that many American businesses have to hire illegal immigrants because Americans are unwilling to do the work.” Kammer pointed out that the meat packing plants filled the jobs formerly held by illegal aliens with American citizens and legal immigrants, and that immigration enforcement had led to increased wages and improved working conditions at the plants in question. (Testimony, November 19, 2009