Regardless of who you are or where you live, you probably know an immigrant. Even if you aren’t on a first name basis, you have met them and interacted with them. You can’t avoid them. The US population is 15% immigrant.
Still, if you aren’t one, it may seem like what happens to them does not affect you. Worse: if you see successful immigrants or immigrants working while native citizens struggle to find high-paying or even middle class jobs, you may believe their presence is taking opportunity from those who were here first.
Your answer, then, to ‘How does immigration affect you?’ may be that it makes it harder for you or your peers to succeed. The problem with that answer is that regardless of who you are, immigration leads to higher wages and lower rates of unemployment. Yes, this includes those who have not attained a high school level education.
It is difficult to arrive at this conclusion through abstract reasoning, but the evidence is irrefutable. To understand why, it helps to think on a smaller scale. Bear with me as we approach the issue through a narrative.
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Rick and Ronda are farmers in West Virginia. They wake up early each day to tend to their herd of pigs and they work into the evening ensuring their crop of corn is growing well.
They sell what they can to the folks in nearby towns, but the bulk of their crop and most of their pigs are sold to large processors who pay them less and aren’t as discerning in the quality department.
They can employ some local boys seasonally to help get everything done, but they can’t afford to pay that well and it’s hard work. Not many people want to work that job.
Turns out, though, that there are plenty who would work that job if it meant they could move to the good old US of A. They’ll work at lower wages and they’ll work long hours.
If they come, aren’t they taking money out of the local boys’ pockets? Well, no, and I’ll tell you why. It means Rick and Ronda get to keep more of their revenue which means they can invest it in their business or spend it in other ways in the community. These immigrants have to live locally if they’re working locally, so the money they make goes right back into the local economy as well.
Those boys can work for better wages doing other work such as building new homes for the new residents. Local stores and restaurants can hire more people because they have more customers buying things.
This is how an economy grows. This is how America was built. This is how our ideals of freedom and democracy can defeat our autocratic rivals.