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Sowell EXPOSES the DARK TRUTH About Democrats and Immigrant Labor || Thomas Sowell Reacts
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About a third of the construction
workforce in this country is Hispanic.
Of those, a large portion are
undocumented. So, how do you propose to
build all the housing necessary that we
need in this country by removing all the
people who are working in construction?
Well, I think it's a fair question
because we know that back in the 1960s
when we had very low levels of illegal
immigration, Americans didn't buy
houses, didn't build houses, but but of
course they did. And I'm being
sarcastic, of course, in service of a
point, Lulu. The assumption that
because a large number of homebuilders
now are using undocumented labor, that
that's the only way to build homes. I
think again, the country is much bigger.
The need is much bigger. I mean, I'm not
arguing in favor of illegal immigration.
I'm asking how you would deal with the
knock-on effect of your proposal to
remove millions of people who work in a
critical part part of the economy. Well,
I think that what you would do is you
would take, let's say, for example, the
7 million prime age men who have dropped
out of the labor force, and you have a
smaller number of women, but still
millions of women prime age who have
dropped out of the labor force,
absolutely could re-engage folks into
the American labor market. This is, I
think, the left's obsession with open
borders is not about compassion for
immigrants. It's a moral masquerade that
sacrifices the economic well-being of
America's most vulnerable workers,
particularly black and Hispanic
Americans, on the altar of political
expediency. For decades, we've been told
that mass low-skill immigration is a
humanitarian necessity, that Americans
won't do those jobs, and that we must
fling wide the gates to build a more
inclusive society. Yet the cold, hard
facts tell a different story. These
policies depress wages, erode labor
force participation and entrench
economic inequality, most acutely for
those the left claims to champion.
Today, we'll dissect this hypocrisy not
with feelings or slogans, but with
logic, history, and evidence. Policies
must be judged by their consequences,
not their intentions. And the
consequences of the left's immigration
stance are nothing short of catastrophic
for the American working class. Let's
begin with basic economics. Supply and
demand. When you flood a labor market
with low-skilled workers, you increase
the supply of labor which drives down
wages. This is not a theory. It's a fact
as predictable as gravity. In industries
like construction, agriculture, and
hospitality, where low-skll immigrant
labor, much of it undocumented, has
become a mainstate, wages have stagnated
or declined in real terms. Data from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that
real wages for construction workers
adjusted for inflation have barely
budged since the 1970s, despite rising
productivity. Why? Because employers can
hire from an ever growing pool of
workers willing to accept lower pay,
often under the table, without benefits
or
protections. Consider this. About a
third of the construction workforce in
the United States is Hispanic, many of
them undocumented. As noted in recent
discussions on labor markets, this isn't
a coincidence. Businesses driven by
profit motives exploit this labor pool
to keep costs down. But who pays the
price? The nativeborn worker, black,
Hispanic, or otherwise, who finds his
bargaining power eroded. In the 1960s,
black workers were a significant
presence in construction trades, often
unionized, earning wages that supported
families and built communities. Today,
their share has dwindled not because
they lack skills or work ethic, but
because the market has been tilted
against them by a flood of cheaper
labor. This isn't to vilify immigrants
who are often hardworking and pursuing
better lives. The issue is the system, a
system that incentivizes businesses to
undercut American workers while
politicians look the other way. The left
in particular cheers this as compassion,
but it's a compassion that comes at the
expense of the very people they claim to
represent. Let's talk about this
so-called compassion. The left frames
unrestricted immigration as a moral
imperative. Painting opponents as
heartless xenophobes, but compassion is
not measured by how loudly you proclaim
your virtue. It's measured by outcomes.
And the outcomes of mass low-skill
immigration are clear. wage suppression,
job displacement, and a hollowedout
middle class. Who suffers most? Low-wage
workers, disproportionately black and
Hispanic, who compete directly with new
arrivals for the same job. Take the
example of meat packing, an industry
transformed by immigration over the past
few decades. In the 1980s, meatacking
jobs were often unionized, paying wages
that supported a middle class lifestyle,
20 to $30 an hour in today's dollars.
Today, many of these jobs are filled by
low-skilled immigrants, often
undocumented, working for half that
amount in hazardous conditions. The left
decries exploitation while supporting
policies that enable it.
They'll march for a $15 minimum wage in
one breath and in the next defend the
influx of workers who make that wage
unattainable by undercutting it. This is
not compassion. It's a contradiction
wrapped in moral posturing. The
hypocrisy deepens when you consider the
left's rhetoric about jobs Americans
won't do. This is a moral slight of
hand, implying that nativeborn workers
are lazy or entitled. The truth is
simpler. Americans won't do those jobs
that the wages offered because the wages
have been driven down by an over supply
of labor. If you paid $25 an hour for
fruit pickers or construction laborers,
you'd find plenty of Americans lining
up. The claim that we need illegal
immigrants to build houses or pick fruit
is nonsense. It's it's not that the work
can't be done without them. It's that
businesses prefer the cheaper
alternative and politicians enable it.
Now, let's address a statistic that
should alarm anyone who cares about
America's economic health. 7 million
prime age men between 25 and 54 are no
longer in the labor force. They're not
working, not looking for work, and not
contributing to the economy. This is a
staggering number up from just a few
million a few decades ago.
Why? Part of the answer lies in the
erosion of economic incentives. When
low-skilled jobs pay less than welfare
benefits or under the table cash, many
men, particularly those with limited
education, opt out entirely. This isn't
laziness. It's a rational response to a
broken system. Black men in particular,
have seen their labor force
participation plummet. In 1970, over 80%
of black men in their prime were
employed or seeking work. Today, it's
closer to
65%. Hispanic men, too, have seen
declines, though less severe. Meanwhile,
the influx of low-skilled immigrants
continues unabated, filling jobs that
might otherwise draw these men back into
the workforce. The left ignores this,
focusing instead on narratives of
systemic racism or inequality. But
racism doesn't explain why employers can
bypass native workers for cheaper
alternatives. That's not a racial issue.
It's an economic one rooted in policy
choices. Now, let's examine the left's
contradictory stance on wages. They
demand a $15 federal minimum wage,
arguing it's a matter of justice for
low-income workers. Yet in the same
breath, they support immigration
policies that flood the market with
workers willing to toil for far less,
often off the books, skirting labor
laws. If you truly believed in raising
wages, wouldn't you prioritize enforcing
immigration laws to tighten the labor
market? Wouldn't you want to ensure that
employers compete for American workers,
driving wages up naturally? Instead, the
left's policies create a race to the
bottom where the only winners are
businesses exploiting cheap labor and
politicians exploiting moral rhetoric.
This contradiction isn't new. In the
19th century, labor unions, often led by
progressives, opposed unrestricted
immigration precisely because it
undercut wages. The Knights of Labor,
for instance, fought against Chinese
immigration in the 1880s, not out of
bigotry, but because they saw how it
depressed wages for native
workers. Today's left has abandoned this
logic, trading economic reality for
ideological purity. They'll cry for
higher wages while ensuring the
conditions that make those wages
impossible. The phrase, "Americans won't
do those jobs," deserves special
scrutiny, is a clever piece of
propaganda implying that immigrants are
filling an essential gap left by
unwilling natives. But let's unpack it.
In a free market, wages adjust to
attract workers. If no one wants to
clean houses for $8 an hour, employers
must offer 12, $15 or or more until the
job is filled. Historically, this is how
labor markets worked. In the early 20th
century, industries like steel and
railroads paid premium wages to attract
workers, including immigrants, to
grueling jobs. The difference today is
that government policies lacks
enforcement, sanctuary cities, and a
blind eye to under the table work
distort the market, allowing employers
to bypass this process. The left's
narrative also ignores history. During
World War II, when labor shortages hit
agriculture, the US didn't throw open
the borders. Instead, programs like the
Victory Garden Initiative and temporary
labor schemes filled the gap. Americans,
including women and teenagers, stepped
up. The idea that entire sectors of the
economy would collapse without illegal
immigration is a myth perpetuated to
justify bad policy. We built houses,
harvested crops, and ran factories long
before the current wave of mass
immigration. We can do it again if the
market is allowed to function. Let me be
clear. This is not an argument against
immigration itself. Immigrants have been
a vital part of America's economic
success, often outperforming nativeborn
citizens when given the chance to
compete in free markets. Look at Chinese
immigrants in the 19th and 20th
centuries. Despite facing
discrimination, exclusionary laws, and
violence, they built thriving
businesses. Restaurants, and shops,
through ingenuity and hard work. By the
late 20th century, Chinese American
median income surpassed those of many
native groups. Not because of government
handouts, but because of economic
freedom. This is the irony. Immigrants
thrive when markets are free, not when
they're distorted by government policies
that incentivize
exploitation. Today's lowskilled
immigrants could follow the same path as
their predecessors if we stopped using
them as pawns in a political game. But
instead, the left traps them in a cycle
of low-wage work while claiming to be
their savior. The real issue isn't
immigrants, it's the politicization of
immigration. which benefits elites while
harming both immigrants and native
workers. Some on the right proposed
tying immigration restrictions to
tariffs, arguing that this will protect
American workers by discouraging
outsourcing and illegal labor. While the
intention is noble, this approach often
backfires. Tariffs raise costs for
consumers and businesses, distorting
markets in ways that rarely benefit the
working class. Historically, immigrants
have thrived in America precisely
because our markets were relatively
free, allowing entrepreneurs, immigrant
or otherwise, to innovate and compete.
The Smoot Holly tariff of 1930, for
example, deepened the Great Depression
by choking trade and killing jobs. Tying
immigration to such measures risk
similar economic self-sabotage. The
better solution is simpler. Enforce
existing immigration laws. secure the
border and let the labor market
function. If employers can't rely on
cheap, illegal labor, they'll compete
for American workers, raising wages
naturally. This isn't anti-immigrant.
It's pro market, and it benefits
everyone who plays by the rules. The
broader consequence of these policies is
the erosion of the American middle
class. A strong middle class requires
good jobs at decent wages, but mass
low-skilled immigration undermines both.
When businesses can hire undocumented
workers at cut rate prices, they have
little incentive to invest in training,
automation, or higher wages for
Americans. This creates a vicious cycle.
Low wages discourage labor force
participation, which increases
dependence on welfare, which further
strains the economy. Black and Hispanic
workers already facing historical
disadvantages bear the brunt. Studies
like those by economist George Bouras
show that a 10% increase in the
immigrant share of the labor force can
reduce black wages by 3 to 4%. The
effect is less severe for Hispanics but
still significant. Yet the left rarely
acknowledges this, preferring to frame
immigration as a moral absolute rather
than an economic trade-off. the middle
class once the backbone of American
prosperity is being squeezed and the
left's policies are tightening the vice.
To illustrate further, consider the
historical context of labor markets in
the early 20th century before mass
immigration became a political football.
Industries like manufacturing attracted
waves of European immigrants who worked
hard and climbed the economic ladder.
They didn't rely on government lares.
They relied on markets that rewarded
effort. Irish immigrants, for example,
started as laborers and within a
generation were entering the
professions. Why? Because wages were
allowed to rise and employers had to
compete for
workers. Today's policies, by contrast,
locked both immigrants and natives into
a low-wage trap with the left cheering
it on as progress. Another example comes
from agriculture. In the 1960s, the end
of the Brasero program, which brought in
temporary Mexican laborers, forced
California farmers to innovate. They
invested in mechanization and higher
wages, and the industry thrived.
American workers filled the gaps,
proving that the jobs Americans won't
do. Mantra is a lie. When incentives
align, markets work. But when government
distorts those
incentives, everyone loses except the
politicians and businesses who profit
from the status quo. You know, the
left's moralizing also glosses over the
human cost to immigrants themselves.
Undocumented workers, often living in
the shadows, face exploitation, unsafe
conditions, and no recourse. By refusing
to enforce borders, the left perpetuates
a system that traps these workers in
vulnerability, all while claiming to be
their advocate. True compassion would
mean creating a legal, orderly
immigration process that respects both
the immigrant and the American worker.
We've covered a lot of ground, but the
core issue
remains. Policies must be judged by
their consequences, not their
intentions.
The left's immigration stance is cloaked
in compassion, but its effects are
anything but
compassionate. It depresses wages,
displaces workers, and undermines the
economic foundation of the very
communities it claims to
uplift. The hypocrisy is stark. They
demand higher wages while flooding the
market with low wage labor. They decry
inequality while enabling the conditions
that perpetuate it. They champion the
vulnerable while ignoring the Americans
left behind. Facts don't care about
political narratives. 7 million men out
of the labor force, stagnant wages, and
a shrinking middle class. These are the
real costs of the left's policies.
Immigrants aren't the problem. Bad
policies are. If we want a stronger
economy, we need to enforce the law,
free the market, and prioritize the
well-being of all Americans, native born
and immigrant alike. Anything less is
just noise, loud, emotional, and utterly
divorced from reality.
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