American Thinker: The Victims of Immigration Reform

June 27, 2013


The Victims of Immigration Reform

By Steve McCann

In virtually all recent polls the overriding concern facing the people of the United States is the moribund economy. Per the Rasmussen survey out of 15 issues 80% of all respondents listed the economy as the most important followed by: 2) health care, 3) job creation, 4) government ethics and corruption and, 5) government spending. The least important were: 1) war in Afghanistan, 2) environment, 3) energy, 4) national security and, 5) immigration. ()


Naturally the thrust of the administration and its allies in Congress is so-called "comprehensive" immigration reform, and for the Obama regime it is to impose by fiat onerous regulations on energy production and usage as a sop to the radical environmental movement. Both drastically and negatively impact the top issue on the list: the economy.

The American people, unlike those in the well-heeled bubble that is Washington D.C., have and are still experiencing under Barack Obama the worst period of economic growth since the Great Depression. Additionally, not since then have the American people experienced more difficulty in finding work.

There are fewer people employed today than there were seven years ago. By May of 2006, George W. Bush had coped with a recession already begun upon his assuming office in January of 2001, the devastation of September 11, 2001, and in September of 2005, the overwhelming economic impact of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. Despite those factors the unemployment rate was 4.6%, thanks to policies polar opposite to those pursued by Obama.


In May of 2006 144.0 million Americans were employed; in May of 2013 there are143.9 million. Yet in 2006, 228.4 million people were counted in the civilian noninstitutional population; in 2013, 245.4 -- or a growth in the working age population of 17 million with 100 thousand fewer jobs. Never, over any seven year period since the Great Depression era, has this nation experienced such a dramatic and devastating economic track record.

[For those determined to blame Bush for all of Obama's failures: in December of 2008, 143.3 million were employed as compared to 143.9 today after nearly four and half years of the Obama presidency.]

Into this landscape the Congress and the President propose to dump up to 20 million illegal immigrants into the labor force, thus allowing them to compete for whatever jobs are available. Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the impact of undocumented immigrants on their statistics:

It is likely that both surveys [household and establishment] include at least some undocumented immigrants. Therefore, it is not possible to determine how many are counted in either survey.


Assuming there are 15 million illegal immigrants in the country and 80% (12 million) would be a net of of working age and that 20% of that group are currently counted in the BLS statistics, therefore, 9.6 million more people would be added to the published working age population -- if the current legislation is signed into law. The overall current working age population of 245.4 million would therefore increase to 255.0 potential job seekers available for 143.9 million jobs. (a shortfall of 111.1 million). Per the current method of calculating the unemployment rate the current published rate of 7.6% would immediately increase to 9.1%.

CONTINUED:  http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/06/the_victims_of_immigration_reform.html?utm_source=06-27-13&utm_campaign=AT+Newsletter+06-27-13&utm_medium=email#ixzz2XTUJXLa5