MOVE TO END IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

British Prime Minister Acknowledges “Cost” of Immigration, Advocates Reduction

Last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown acknowledged what the overwhelming majority of American citizens have understood for decades: unrestricted mass immigration suppresses wages, takes jobs away from those who desperately need them, and creates social tension. Brown’s comments came in the face of an increasing public outcry in Great Britain demanding that, in the face of rising unemployment, the government take action to address the issue of immigration.

According to British media reports, Brown delivered a speech last Thursday in which he “accepted people’s fears that [immigration] has undermined wages, affected job prospects for children and whether families can live near each other.” (The Telegraph, November 12, 2009). Acknowledging that immigration has a disproportionately harmful effect on the unemployed and other struggling families and individuals, Brown stated: “If you work in a sector where wages are falling or an area where jobs are scarce, immigration will feel very different.” Brown elaborated: “If you’re living in a town which hasn’t seen much inward migration before, you may worry about whether immigration will undermine wages and the job prospects of your children – and whether they will be able to get housing anywhere near you.” (Id.).

The attitudes of mainstream American citizens toward mass immigration are strikingly similar to those of the citizens of Great Britain. A recent poll conducted by CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation found that 73 percent of Americans “would like to see a decrease in the number of illegal immigrants in the country.” (CNN, October 22, 2009). A Gallup poll conducted in August 2009 found that 50 percent of Americans say immigration should be decreased, while only 14 percent support an increase. (Gallup, August 5, 2009). Furthermore, an April 2009 Pulse Opinion survey found that strong majorities of progressives and liberals believe that high levels of immigration into the United States have harmed the nation’s quality of life, environment, and job prospects for legal workers. (Progressives for Immigration Reform, April 14, 2009).

In addition to his comments addressing British citizens’ concerns with unrestricted mass immigration, Brown “pledged to create thousands more jobs for British workers by reducing the number of skilled occupations that are open to foreign workers.” (The Telegraph). FAIR has consistently advocated this same type of reduction as a way to create jobs in the United States, as well. However, it does not appear that the Obama Administration feels the same way. On Friday, November 13, President Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, responded to a questioner who expressed concerns about foreign workers obtaining engineering jobs over equally-qualified American workers by saying that she “think[s] there’s enough engineering jobs for everybody.” (Center for American Progress, November 13, 2009). Secretary Napolitano’s statement is astonishing, especially in light of recently issued numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicating that the nationwide unemployment rate is now 10.2 percent – the highest it has been in 26 years. (BLS, November 6, 2009).