Today we watched the stock market plunge as the House voted down Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s financial bail-out package. Things are not looking good for the economy, which in modern times has been the main factor attracting immigrants to this country. So how will the crisis affect immigration?
New census figures that came out earlier this month showed drastically reduced immigration numbers in 2007. Demographic experts attributed this decline to an economic slowdown. As a recent editorial in Scripps papers put it, “We’ve discovered something more effective than a wall and workplace raids at discouraging illegal immigrants from trying to enter the United States and encouraging those already here to leave—a bad economy.”
At Forbes, Edward Alden points out that more than half of our PhD students are foreign-born. With a weaker economy, they will have fewer reasons to stay.
Unskilled labor is also important. In some places in the Northeast, immigrants have been propping up economies that were devastated decades ago, when industrial jobs moved out. Business leaders in Connecticut are worried that a lack of immigrants will hurt that state. In Eastern Pennsylvania, despite anti-immigrant sentiment, Latino immigrants have resurrected downtowns by building small businesses. With fewer immigrants, there will be no room for immigrant-oriented businesses to grow.
The economy affect immigration, and in turn, immigration affects the economy. The only question is to what degree, and how long will the changes last?
(AP Photo)
Add New Comment
Viewing 3 Comments
Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Add New Comment