The most common myth about immigration in the west is that immigrants take jobs away from native citizens. We know this is a myth because the actual numbers of jobs that immigrants take that could be filled by natives is quite small. This is because immigrants take either highly skilled jobs where there is a shortage of native workers, or very low-skill jobs such as cleaning which natives refuse to apply for.
Furthermore, immigrants are usually the last to be hired and the first to be fired, which protects the jobs of more senior native employees.
The second most common myth is that immigrant workers push down the wages paid by employers to native workers. This is another half-truth that ignores the overall positive impact of immigrants on the national wage average.
While it is true that American citizens who only have a second-level education have experienced a decline in pay for the low-skilled jobs for which they’re qualified, the actual decline is only between one and two per cent. Their compatriots employed in trades requiring more skills and training, such as plumbers, electricians or mechanics, have seen no effect on their incomes from immigrant competition. Third-level graduates have also seen no reduction in wages as a result of competition from immigrants for more highly skilled jobs.
Looking at the bigger picture, economists’ estimate that for each job an immigrant takes, at least one additional job is created. Why is that? Because immigrants stimulate overall economic growth – not only do they buy more products as consumers, but many create new jobs, acting either as investors in native-run businesses or as entrepreneurs. It’s why economists claim that for the majority of American workers, their current pay is actually higher than it would be without immigration.
The third myth, however, isn’t just a half-truth: it’s a total fiction. It’s the myth that claims immigrants – particularly illegal immigrants – take advantage of America and other nations’ social welfare systems without paying their share.
While less than five per cent of illegal immigrants in America do collect food stamp benefits to feed their families and educate their children in America’s public schools, they also pay the same taxes that natives pay to support these services. They pay sales taxes on the goods or services they purchase and they pay rent, which is taxable income for their landlords. Most also have federal, state and local income taxes, as well as social security and Medicare payments deducted from their wages – with no hope of ever getting a rebate or claiming benefits because they have to provide fake social security numbers to their employers. The US government collects over $10bn a year in taxes with no valid records to credit them to.
The fourth myth is also a fiction. It claims that America is overrun with illegal immigrants, and because they don’t integrate with the broader population, they are responsible for increases in property and violent crimes. However, back in 1890 – when immigrants made up 15 per cent of America’s population versus only 13 per cent today – natives citizens were also claiming that Irish and Italian immigrants didn’t integrate and were responsible for increases in crime, just as they say about Mexican immigrants today.
The truth about these myths is that native citizens (and the politicians who pander to them) use them to blame immigrants for their problems, instead of being honest about the real problem. The essential truth is these citizens never took the time or made an effort to upgrade their skills in order to remain employable in a constantly changing and more technologically advanced world.
Charles Laffiteau is a US Republican from Dallas, Texas who is pursuing a PhD in International Relations and lectures on Contemporary US Business & Society at DCU
