Michael Slager writing in Counterpunch magazine (The Migrant "Crisis" and 10 Misperceptions About Immigration, February 3, 2023) offers the following corrections to commonly raised concerns related to immigration in the United States. These concerns are debunked in turn by Legalienate.
1. Immigrants Cause Crime
"US government statistics and reputable criminology literature have shown that high concentrations of immigrants do not make crime worse and may even help to lower it. It is worth noting that US-born citizens are twice as likely as undocumented immigrants to commit violent crimes and 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug offenses."
This claim does not address the fact that a crime committed by an illegal immigrant is not one that citizens should have to deal with, whereas the crimes of one's fellow citizens are. The issue is the legitimization of violations of immigration law, not the spillover effects from those violations, be they good, bad, or neutral.
2. Immigrants Might Be Terrorists
"It is highly unlikely that a foreign-born terrorist would kill a U.S. citizen. A study conducted by the CATO institute in 2019 found that the chances are 1 in 3.8 million per year. The likelihood of a refugee killing someone in a terrorist attack is one in 3.86 billion per year."
In other words, 911 was statistically improbable, which may be true, but not particularly helpful to know, given the trauma such an event inevitably causes. Furthermore, CATO is hardly a neutral source on immigration matters. They find no wage too low, no conditions too degrading, and no reason not to support "free labor" (i.e., desperate and exploited workers) going wherever it feels it needs to, regardless of what the law may require. If the entire planet is to be reduced to a "free trade zone," immigration law is illegitimate. If this is one's position, it should be stated up front.
3. They Take Our Jobs
"When an immigrant enters the workforce a US citizen is either not affected at all or finds work more suitable to their skills. Regarding so-called low or unskilled work, some Americans move into managerial or leadership roles because of their proficiency in English and knowledge of the culture. Labor displacement can happen, but it is a very small percentage and primarily affects those without high school diplomas, who, as I noted, often move into better positions."
It is unlikely that all the black workers who used to staff the nation's hotels moved up into managerial positions. Admitedly, Slager only claims that "some" move up, but then the question becomes, "What about the others?" about which he says nothing. Also, he should address the issue of an overall depression of wages brought about by a "reserve army of the unemployed," which has long been a staple of realistic economic analysis. If it is no longer operative, or somehow not applicable to the millions of desperate workers arriving to the U.S. from abroad, he needs to explain why.
4. They Want To Live Off The Government
"Undocumented migrants are not eligible for welfare, food stamps, or Medicaid. Eligible migrants or legal immigrants use welfare at far lower rates than US-born citizens. In general, they are about 30 percent less likely to apply for welfare, than the US population, even though rates of poverty among some immigrant communities are far higher."
Why would excluded people apply for welfare at all? It makes no sense to say they are ineligible and can't receive anything, but at the same time they go on applying. (Actually, the welfare comment appears to be about legal immigrants - my error.) In any case, the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants ARE eligible, so welfare reaches them that way. Also, there are a range of programs from free food to low-cost medical care to free therapy and free English lessons that are available to the undocumented, though it might not be defined as "welfare." Suffice it to say that the undocumented immigrant package in the U.S. is far more generous than anything available in their countries of origin, which provides the inducement for them coming here. It hardly justifies the abuses they are forced to endure in getting and living here, but it is government and non-profit (i.e., quasi-government) support.
5. They Cost Us Money
"No, they do not. According to Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law at Cornell University, documented and undocumented immigrants paid $328 billion federal, state, and local taxes in 2014 alone. The Social Security Administration estimates that unauthorized migrant workers paid about $12 billion into the Social Security trust fund in 2010. As noted, they are not eligible for benefits. By contrast, former President Trump paid out $750 in federal income taxes in 2016."
The total tax figure has to be compared to the total government costs at the local, state, and federal level in support of undocumented immigrants. Slager doesn't provide this number, simply moves on to Social Security, which is a related topic, but doesn't speak to the overall point.
6. They Are A Drag On The Economy
"Many foreign-born workers move to regions in the United States where there are labor shortages, stimulating local economies. Migrants are often more willing to move because of fewer familial ties. Lots of migrant women work in childcare, which allows native born parents, especially American women, to seek employment outside the home."
Yes, many migrants abandon their children to work and support them from the United States, which allows many American parents to abandon their children daily in order to work outside the home. This may not be a drag on the economy, but it's usually an emotional drag for the kids, especially when they are little. Yes, aggregate economic figures can make it look like this is a benefit all the way around, but is it really?
7. They Refuse To Learn English
"After a decade of residency, a vast majority of immigrants speak English well. As a former ESL teacher, I can say that the demand for English classes, and it often exceeds available seats in the classroom."
It often takes ten or more years to gain residency, so "after a decade of residency" can mean after living a couple of decades in the U.S. In that span of time every single person should have picked up fluent English, which is not to say grammatically perfect, accent-free English, but fluent communication ability. Many immigrants who arrive as adults do not manage to do this, but this is not due to an outright refusal to learn. The real issue is the capitalist imperative of cheap labor, which undermines adequate investment in the workforce, and certainly does not support years of expensive language training. When the workforce doesn't speak English well, it produces all kinds of communication frustrations, which aren't perceived as a problem unless they interfere with profits. Nevertheless, communication problems always generate resentment. How could they not?
8. They Refuse To Assimilate
The pattern for assimilation has been roughly the same for over a century. Ethnic enclaves in major cities generally only last for about three (and often fewer) generations. One immigrant group is often replaced by others, who then repeat the pattern of settlement and assimilation.
Yes, they assimilate all too well, even to the point of identifying white people as "Americans" and people of color as separate, lesser races. Why are we teaching them to do that?
9. They Are "Illegal."
Approximately 75 percent of all immigrants are here legally. The other 25 percent are not, but of this group, 40% overstayed their visas.
This response misses the point that the line between legal and illegal has been hopelessly blurred by cheap labor policy subsidizing corporate profits. If you enter the U.S. illegally the consequence is supposed to be that you are removed from the country for a period of at least ten years before you are even eligible to apply for a legal visa. This so-called Law of Punishment has been reduced to a brief formality (exit the country for a day, a week, or a couple months and then re-enter legally) or not applied at all. Illegal entry or overstaying a legal visa has been legitimized as the first step on the "path to citizenship." U.S. law, however, continues to define it as a serious violation. We shouldn't be trying to have it both ways.
10. The Borders Are Wide Open
This is false. The southern border is significantly militarized and monitored by almost 17,000 agents. The cost of policing the border is over $16 billion per year. Under the Biden administration hundreds of thousands of people have either been refused entry or deported.
The borders are militarized, and also porous enough to have let millions of illegal immigrants find their way in. But the border fetish is really almost beside the point. Illegal immigrants are fleeing the aftermath of U.S. sponsored military and CIA interventions, as well as "free market" orthodoxy that has made any kind of decent life impossible for all but the few around the "undeveloped" world. Thus, they have legitimate claims to make against the U.S. government. How about we focus on and solve the real problem, instead of dividing ourselves into warring identity factions?
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