Partisans for cheap labor

This wasn't supposed to happen here

[Reprinted from Issues & Views April 7, 2003]

While Congressmen Tom Tancredo and David Obey propose bills that would control mass immigration, advocates for open borders are busy opposing them. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, for example, is working overtime to make official the I.D. cards that are distributed by various foreign consulates to their nationals who live illegally in the United States. Known as "matricula consular," these cards demonstrate the degree to which determined foreign governments can override U.S. law.

The Hispanic Caucus is lobbying other elected officials to vote against Rep. Tancredo's bill that would limit the acceptance of I.D. cards issued by foreign governments. Rep. Obey's proposal for a $500 million budget to increase border security staffing is also unpopular with the Caucus and other immigration advocates.

While the slugging goes on in Congress, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) asserts that the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is putting on a charade as it sets about to "research" the economic impact of mass immigration on the country. FAIR claims:

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is assuming the role of an advocacy group on behalf of mass immigration and is preparing to conduct "research" to prove the conclusions that the Bank's president has stated in advance. Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow, in announcing the formation of a research center to study the impact of immigration on the U.S. economy, concluded in advance that mass immigration is overwhelmingly beneficial.

"This so-called study center will have all the objectivity of Arthur Andersen publishing a report on the tenets of proper accounting," charged Dan Stein, executive director of FAIR. "Based on Moskow's own statements, we know going in what the report will conclude, so why spend time and the taxpayers' money to conduct a study that makes no pretense at objectivity?"

In announcing the formation of the research center, Moskow asserted that immigration has greatly benefited the U.S. economy. The Chicago Fed president also stated that immigrants have "a high labor force participation rate; they have a high propensity to start new businesses; they use relatively small amounts of public services; and they generally do not cause unemployment among native citizens."

"These are the sorts of statements one generally makes after a study has been conducted, not before," said Stein. "Aside from giving away the ending before the public has had a chance to read Mr. Moskow's forthcoming work of folklore, every single one of his conclusions is contradicted by solid economic evidence.

"Once again, we are seeing the Federal Reserve acting as the handmaiden for a relatively small number of economic interests that have benefited from the massive cheap labor mill that our immigration policy has become," Stein continued. "In the rarified world of bankers and CEOs in which Mr. Moskow travels, mass immigration means cheap labor in the workplace, and domestic help around the house. For the folks they pass in their limousines on the way to the office or the country club, it means overcrowded public schools, exploding public health care costs, and even a loss of their own jobs and middle class living standards."

Copyright © 2010 Issues & Views