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Conversations on Politics, Policy in the Golden State

 

Joe Guzzardi

President Trump is Right:
Americans Should Come First


 

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump’s immigration executive actions have dominated the news cycle. Nothing has created more furor than Trump’s order to impose temporary restrictions on refugee resettlement.

While the outcries have been focused on how restricting refugee entry violates the United States’ presumed moral commitment to help the world, little has been said about the link between more immigrants, specifically refugees, and Americans’ employment opportunities.

Refugees, like most legal immigrants, receive employment authorization documents that allow them to compete with Americans in an increasingly tight labor market. Employers view immigration, which creates a larger labor pool, as a bonanza.

In its outraged response to Trump, Starbucks announced that it would hire 10,000 refugees globally. But here in California, those barista jobs are perfect for the part-time student saving for tuition or the homemaker looking to supplement the family income. Trump is right: Americans should come first.

Over the last two decades, legal immigration has averaged over one million annually with California a primary destination. Written another way, every year one million legally authorized workers enter the labor market. Employers are especially enamored of guest worker programs, the so called temporary or nonimmigrant visa categories that have dramatically expanded over the years.

At the same time, Congress has done little to end illegal immigration. These immigration actions and non-actions have hurt California’s workers and depressed wages for millions. The more available workers, the better it is for employers, but the worse it is for the unemployed, the marginally employed, or the employees that deserves a wage increase.

The visa system has flooded the market with workers. A sampling: the H-1B, and its cousins, the H-1B1, the H-1B2, and the H-1B3 for “specialty workers”; the H-2A and H-2B for seasonal agricultural workers and temporary non-agriculture workers, the L-1A and L-1B for international transfers; and the O for “extraordinary talents.” Silicon Valley continuously lobbies for more H-1Bs even though large-scale layoffs within the industry have increased dramatically since 2015.

Employers claim that they need the huge influx of international workers because so few Americans are available or qualified. But the statement is preposterous on its face. For example, the State Department, disguising it as the summer exchange/work travel program (SWT), issues more than 100,000 J-1 visas to international college students who wind up working at the nation’s beaches, national parks, upscale restaurants, and golf resorts.

Assuming a fair wage and an equal playing field, American kids will work at Yosemite or Disney World. But because employers are exempt from paying SWT participants’ Social Security, Medicare, or federal unemployment taxes, they prefer to hire international students.

To help American workers, Trump should cap legal immigration limits at 250,000 their pre-1965 average, and end the numerous visa categories that allow foreign nationals to compete with citizens for increasingly fewer decent jobs.

Joe Guzzardi is California for Population Stabilization’s National Media Director. He can be reached at joeguzzardi@capsweb.org. The opinions in this article are presented in the spirit of spurring discussion and reflect those of the author and not necessarily the treasurer, his office or the State of California.


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Restricting Immigration Hurts the Bay Area, Council Members Say

 

Recent actions and statements by President Trump’s administration on immigration, including an executive order ostensibly banning citizens and others from certain predominately Muslim countries from entering the U.S., have sparked strong reaction and debate nationwide and here in the Bay Area. The Bay Area Council joined with many other groups that have expressed serious concerns about the ban and its impacts – social, human and economic.
 
A recent survey of our members - while not unanimous - highlighted the depth of those concerns, with 79% saying that the immigration ban will have a negative impact on the Bay Area and 13% saying the impact will be positive. A larger 88% of the 183 companies that responded said draft proposals to limit or do away with H1-B visas, which allow U.S. employers and others to temporarily employ workers in specialty occupations, would negatively impact our region as we compete for talent in a global economy, while 9% said the Bay Area would benefit from restrictions.
 
As a member-driven, nonpartisan organization that has focused for more than 70 years on making the Bay Area the most innovative, globally competitive, and sustainable region in the world, the Bay Area Council knows well the incredible value and importance of both home-grown and immigrant talent to our region and nation.
 
The Bay Area is the thriving, diverse and economically productive region it is today because of the immense contributions that immigrants have made over many, many generations. Our many strong connections with the global community interweave natives and immigrants into the business, social, and cultural fabric and history of the Bay Area, a region that firmly embraces the values of inclusion, diversity and freedom.
 
Many of our greatest companies have been founded by former immigrants – and the children and grandchildren of immigrants -- who came here seeking opportunity and the freedom to realize their dreams. Some are here temporarily. Most become regular American citizens. They have been responsible for some of our greatest discoveries—discoveries that have made the United States and the world a better place for millions of people. They have been a tremendous source of ideas, innovation, investment and leadership. And, immigrants have been a great source of talent for our many employers.
 
Protecting our national interests and the safety of our citizens is extremely important, but we must be equally careful not to infringe on the civil and human rights for which we stand. The Bay Area Council has long advocated for federal action on immigration reform, and we continue to believe that such reform should be developed comprehensively and thoughtfully.

The Bay Area Council is a business-sponsored, public policy advocacy organization for the nine-county Bay Area. The opinions in this article are presented in the spirit of spurring discussion and reflect those of the author and not necessarily the Treasurer, his office or the State of California.