Economist Borjas: Immigration Redistributes ‘Wealth from the Native Poor to the Native Rich’

by Emily Bevard

 

In July alone, U.S. Customs and Border Protection made nearly 200,000 arrests at the southern border. President Biden’s push for looser border policies has welcomed an influx of migrants since the beginning of his presidency and, according to the deputy opinion editor at Newsweek, research shows an open border hurts low-income Americans the most.

According to a 2021 study, immigration accounts for a third of the decline in the Black employment rate over the last 40 years, Unherd reports. Newsweek’s deputy opinion editor backs her claim with an argument from economist George Borjas stating, “immigration primarily boosts the incomes of the immigrants themselves, while redistributing wealth from the native poor to the native rich.”

“Black Americans are more supportive of limiting immigration than any other bloc of the Democratic coalition,” sociologist Musa al Gharbi reported, according to the news outlet, Unherd.com. “And Hispanics actually tend to be more concerned about illegal immigration than are whites or Blacks.”

In 2019, a majority of Black and Hispanic Americans reportedly claimed they would vote for a presidential candidate who stood for strengthening border security in an effort to reduce illegal immigration, as illegal immigration has historically been tied to a 20% to 60% decline in black working-class wages, Unherd reports.

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Thus far in Fiscal Year 2022, which runs October 01, 2021 through September 30, 2022, U.S. Border Patrol agents have made about 1,822,160 arrests at the southern border, according to the most recent data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Since January, 1,511,486 arrests have been made. According to CBP operational data reports, Border Patrol agents have made over 3.3 million arrests at the southern border since Biden entered office in January 2021.

In July alone, the U.S. CBP apprehended 199,976 undocumented immigrants at the southern border. This represents a near 30% increase from July 2021 when there were 154,288 encounters, CBP reports.

In addition to the Biden Administration recently attempting to end Title 42, the Department of Homeland Security announced in early August that it plans to end another Trump-era program—Remain in Mexico—which allowed border agents to turn migrants away and have them wait in Mexico until their removal hearings. Ending this policy is said to clear the way for potentially tens of thousands more migrants to enter the US.

Since Sen. Raphael Warnock has taken office, records show he has voted against amendments to force President Joe Biden to restart border wall construction and voted to confirm activist Chris Magnus to lead the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). In April 2021, Warnock voted against a bill that would direct $300 million for anti-narcotic and opioid activities carried out by CBP.

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Emily Bevard is a reporter at The Peach Tree Times.
Photo “George Borjas” by Harvard University. Background Photo “Border Wall” by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

 

 


Reprinted with permission from The Peach Tree Times / Metric Media

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