The “Jobs Americans Won’t Do” Myth

I still am somewhat baffled when I hear people say “illegal immigrants do the jobs that regular Americans won’t do.”  From friends and co-workers to politicians and even presidents, it seems to be an indelible mantra on the minds and lips of most Americans.

I tend to look at it a bit past the surface, and happen to see the situation in a very different light.

Illegal immigrants, excuse me, “undocumented” residents, provide a low-wage and more importantly, below-the-market-wage, source of labor.  One which farmers, construction companies, and many other employers with labor-intensive jobs are all too willing to take in.  Some employers do perform immigration status checks and other measures to try to comply with the law, but many only see a cheap, ready and willing labor pool and simply turn a blind eye.  This results in artificially-depressed wages for the “jobs Americans won’t do” and removes the incentive for those entering the workforce (specifically low-wage workers, e.g. most high school graduates and first-time employees) to seek said jobs.

If the immigration laws were given at least a modicum of enforcement in California, Nevada, and Arizona (wait, they beat me to it), along with even non-border states, the sources of cheap labor would be greatly reduced, the demand for “tough” low-wage jobs would increase, and the associated wages would normalize to market-appropriate levels.  Law-abiding Americans, as with any other sector of the economy, can and will fill this labor demand, (and the recently depressingly high 10 percent and upward portion of Americans who are currently unemployed might be able to find themselves gainfully employed), reducing the burden on other taxpaying Americans who hold jobs and contribute to social welfare programs.

For those Americans that refuse to do low-wage and/or “tough” jobs, they have two options: (1) get educated and enter the labor force with the ability to initially demand higher wages or (2) perform the low-wage job and ascend the normal scale of employment with increasing wages, which most people do every single day in this country.

Interestingly enough, during the current economic downturn, sometimes referred to as the “Great Recession”, there is a growing percentage of Americans who are actually “mal-employed”, that is, working below their education or skill level.  According to the Christian Science Monitor, “news reports show long lines of applicants for a janitor’s job or for work at a factory after a federal raid clears out the illegal workers.”

The Monitor also cites a study that reveals some of the facts behind the “too menial for Americans” myth:

a study by the Center for Immigration Studies used 2005-07 data to look at 465 occupations. Only four had a majority of immigrants in them: plasterers and stucco masons, agricultural graders and sorters, personal appliance workers, and tailors and dressmakers.

In every other occupation, such as janitors, maids, and groundskeepers, a large majority were filled by native-born Americans. The report’s conclusion: “The often-made argument that immigrants only take jobs Americans don’t want is simply wrong.”

Let’s look at another aspect of the problem.  Not only do undocumented immigrants provide this market-distorting, incentive-reducing, low-wage labor pool, but they also consume in large amounts the social welfare benefits provided by taxpayers since they qualify for these programs because of their low wages (not to mention that many do not actually contribute to these systems via income taxes, payroll taxes, etc.).  Additionally, they force other Americans who could be performing these jobs at normal market wages to also consume welfare benefits, essentially doubling the usage of the welfare ‘safety net’, further reducing the overall productivity of other American employees and employers who pay higher taxes, and who could otherwise be creating and providing more jobs.

I’m not advocating that all undocumented immigrants be searched out and deported, nor am I suggesting that we close our borders completely and indefinitely.  A well-defined and long-term guest-worker program for those who are already here illegally has been proposed by many as a viable solution to the present situation, and I think it is definitely worth pursuing.  As for the future, I think an immigration policy in which the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country is closely coupled with the actual labor demand and economic environment in the states (and perhaps even a more local level such as the county or city) would be a reasonable solution that makes economic sense.  This along with visa policies similar to those currently used such as the H1, H2, F1, work and student visas etc., as well as the much sought-after, rigid border enforcement would go a long way in solving the problems of labor market distortion, unemployment, and our ticking entitlement time bombs.

Posted in: Analysis