Immigration News in Review

April was a rough month for Americans who wonder when, if ever, the nation will stabilize, and conditions on the ground will return to what would pass, by comparison, for normal. The ugly campus confrontations between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine factions were a sad sight. President Joe Biden’s program of flying illegal aliens into the interior, destinations now known, was the latest in his long series of immigration law violations, and a direct slap in the face to the taxpayers who fund the invasion.

And then there was the monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report that has chronicled the growing number of employed illegal aliens. Before BLS released its April jobs report, Bloomberg published an immigration expansionist’s perspective, “How the Migrant Surge Is Filtering Through U.S. Data.”Bloomberg’s prediction of a 250,000 jump in payrolls was embarrassingly
wrong---the actual total was 175,000 or 75,000 fewer jobs. And the Household Survey bombed. The report showed that in April the U.S. added just 25,000 jobs, a huge drop from March’s 498,000. The unemployment rate rose more than expected, from 3.8 percent to 3.9 percent, the
highest since January 2022. The labor participation rate was unchanged and dismal at 62.7%.

But the most interesting take away from Bloomberg Senior Editor Chris Anstey was his acknowledgment that illegal aliens--aka, “newcomers” -- will, to use his word, “likely” take low-paying jobs from American citizens. Anstey wrote: “Within the labor market, construction,
household cleaning, home health aides as well as leisure and hospitality have been showing strong growth, with employment levels in those sectors at or above their pre-pandemic trend. Those are also jobs viewed as more likely to be filled by immigrants.”

Instead of registering alarm that Americans, in this inflationary era, will lose job opportunities to illegal aliens, the story’s tone was matter of fact. From the April BLS’ major employment sectors: social assistance employment increased by 31,000, transportation and warehousing+ 22,000 jobs, retail trade employment +20,000, general merchandise retailers, +10,000, building material, garden equipment and supplies dealers +7,000, health and personal care retailers +5,000, and construction employment +9,000. Those jobs are going to illegal aliens or parolees and represent a lot of jobs that low-income Americans are eager to do.

Immigration, legal and illegal, is a boon for corporations, and manufacturers. The oft- stated explanation for immigrants coming to the U.S. is that they’re searching for a “better life.” Translated, a “better life” means they’ll become consumers of goods and services, a goal only achievable if they hold jobs. And indeed, in April, retail sales increased 0.7% last month. More people means a larger economy, more consumption, and growing the GDP, which economists wrongly hail. The true measurement of a healthy society is per capita GDP income. Population growth and per capita GDP are not linked to each other.

Moreillegal aliens---future workers---are on the way. The Darien Gap is jammed with illegal aliens traveling north. If paroled, as many are, they become work authorized. If not paroled, the illegal aliens have only to lie on their I-9 forms, and they’re hired. In the coming months, the BLS reports are likely to reflect more employed illegal aliens, a trend that will continue for several months to come.

Joe Guzzardi is an Institute for Sound Public Policy analyst. Contact him at jguzzardi@ifssp.com