Thread: Immigration reform advocates:Job market key to Num of labor

Immigration reform advocates: Job market key to number of laborers
By Tara McLaughlin : The Herald-Sun Washington Bureau
news@heraldsun.com
Sep 23, 2006 : 10:00 pm ET

WASHINGTON -- The number of immigrants allowed into the United States should be regulated by labor market needs, reform advocates say.

That was among a series of recommendations released by The Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based, nonprofit think tank. The institute calls the measures a comprehensive solution to the country's immigration dilemma.

But keeping track of labor requirements could be challenging, especially on the local level, said Emilio Parrado, a sociology professor at Duke University.

"One of the problems in terms of monitoring U.S. demand for labor force is that many of the jobs are temporary and they vary by season," Parrado said. "In Durham it is mostly construction and services so it's difficult to predict the demand for those industries."

The institute released its report Wednesday as hope dimmed that Congress would enact its own immigration legislation before the end of its session at the end of the month. The House and Senate have widely divergent plans for reform.

The report detailed 16 policy recommendations including programs for improving control of the borders, helping immigrants adjust to American society and for giving employers tools to check the status of potential employees.

It has to be "comprehensive," said Lee Hamilton, co-chair of the policy reform committee and a former Democratic congressman from Indiana. "A border-only strategy will fail," added co-chair Spencer Abraham, a former Republican senator from Michigan.

Among the recommendations was the creation of an independent executive branch body that would monitor the fluctuations of the labor market and raise or lower visa acceptance to match.

The committee equated the new agency to the Federal Reserve, as it monitors and adjusts interest rates. As the economy expands, more skilled and non-skilled workers would be allowed to enter the United States. As the economy contracts, so would the number of immigrants granted visas.

Other recommendations included a means for employers to verify work eligibility of employees, new Social Security cards indicating a worker's status and a program to expedite border-security technology.

The committee hopes its suggestions will be examined in the next year or two. It said it does not expect the current Congress to address the points raised in the report.

The panel said the proposal was not merely the existing bill before the U.S. Senate dressed up as something new. The recommendations are simplified and streamlined compared to the Senate bill, which also calls for broad reforms.

Parrado said that even if Congress agrees to allow more immigrants into the country, members disagree on how many.

"If you let too many in, then those who are opposed will say they will drive down the wages," he said.

North Carolina's immigrant population almost tripled in the 1990s, according to census data. Growth has slowed since 2000 but the state remains among the nation's fastest growing immigrant populations, adding more than 30 percent between 2000 and 2005.
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-772492.html

If we have a guest worker program them we may end up with the same problem as Germany now has with the Turks. After WWII they allowed them to come or remain in Germany temporarily to help rebuild. The problem is that they never left after their work terms were over. They married and had children allowing them to stay. Gee doesn't that sound familiar?
Now the Turks have the highest unemployment rate in Germany. It is more than double than that of Germans. Is that what will happen to us? I hope not!

Emilio Parrado's resume linked below, it shows where his interest are.

http://www.soc.duke.edu/~eparrado/web/p ... niversity'

http://www.jomc.unc.edu/executiveeducat ... chure.html

Interesting resume! Thanks COI !

independent executive branch body that would monitor the fluctuations of the labor market and raise or lower visa acceptance to match

Great, more layers of government...just what we would need.

BTW, many folk do NOT realize that the Fed is NOT gov't.

Pat, did you scan the 2nd link ?

COI,

Just did now....geeessshhhh.

Saw Parrado again...

IMO, all the listed presenters have a VESTED interest in having more illegals come in....from whatever country!

Charles, thanks for posting the resume - that was helpful. To understand the true message in any of these articles, it's essential to know the writer's background and whether they have a dog in this fight. Sometimes it's obvious, and other times it's not.

The number of immigrants allowed into the United States should be regulated by labor market needs, reform advocates say.

This is a very loaded statement. It seems to me that an employer can't just decide he wants to pay $5 per hour and when Americans are unwilling to work for this rate the employer then tries to make a case that he must have guest workers. How can we guarantee that Americans would first be offered jobs at livable wages before the decision is made to try to hire guest workers? And then, how could a guest worker program be made truly temporary, who monitors the program for abuses, and who pays for the costs of medical care, education for their children, etc? I believe the employer should and this should not be shouldered by taxpayers. Sorry, but I just don't buy the whining of employers who say their business will collapse without guest workers. What they're really saying is, 'we don't want to pay decent wages to Americans, we want employees we can manipulate or fire without provocation, we don't want to worry about working conditions, and we want taxpayers to pay the fringe benefits so we can increase our profit margins.' Nothing but greed is driving this.

Originally Posted by Kate

Charles, thanks for posting the resume - that was helpful. To understand the true message in any of these articles, it's essential to know the writer's background and whether they have a dog in this fight. Sometimes it's obvious, and other times it's not.

The number of immigrants allowed into the United States should be regulated by labor market needs, reform advocates say.

This is a very loaded statement. It seems to me that an employer can't just decide he wants to pay $5 per hour and when Americans are unwilling to work for this rate the employer then tries to make a case that he must have guest workers. How can we guarantee that Americans would first be offered jobs at livable wages before the decision is made to try to hire guest workers? And then, how could a guest worker program be made truly temporary, who monitors the program for abuses, and who pays for the costs of medical care, education for their children, etc? I believe the employer should and this should not be shouldered by taxpayers. Sorry, but I just don't buy the whining of employers who say their business will collapse without guest workers. What they're really saying is, 'we don't want to pay decent wages to Americans, we want employees we can manipulate or fire without provocation, we don't want to worry about working conditions, and we want taxpayers to pay the fringe benefits so we can increase our profit margins.' Nothing but greed is driving this.

well put.

Well said, Kate. I agree.

This is a very loaded statement

.

Employers willing to break the law for profit, should NOT be involved in deciding numbers of guest workers.