Thread: Economist testifies for Hazleton

GO HAZELTON!


Economist testifies for Hazleton, says immigration lowers wages

SCRANTON, Pa. In week two of the trial over Hazleton's illegal immigrant crackdown, a labor economist testified today that immigration tends to depress wages for lower-skilled workers.

The city's lawyers called on George Borjas to provide an economic justification for the crackdown. The Harvard University conducted a 20-year study that found wages of U-S-born citizens working in low-skilled jobs decreased by about eight percent over the short term because of immigrant labor.

Hazleton is defending the constitutionality of its Illegal Immigration Relief Act. That law penalizes landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and companies that employ them. A companion measure requires tenants to register with City Hall.

Enforcement of the laws has been barred pending a legal challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union and Hispanic groups.

http://www.wfmj.com/Global/story.asp?S=6246852

03/19/2007
Trial update: Illegal is not always illegal, expert testifies


SCRANTON -- Contrary to Mayor Lou Barletta's motto, illegal is not always illegal, an expert witness testified for the plaintiffs on the sixth day of the trial.

"You may be here not in legal status today but ... you may (legalize) your status tomorrow," Stephen Yale-Loehr, a Cornell University immigration law professor and author of several legal reference materials on immigration, testified at the Willaim J. Nealon Federal Building.

He described the different ways a person can obtain legal status. Even if they were illegal, he said there are still ways to correct it and become a legal immigrant, such as a family relationship or asylum.
"Only an immigration judge in an immigration proceeding can determine your status once and for all," Yale-Loehr said.

Earlier this morning, the city called its first witness, an economics professor who testified areas experiencing an influx of immigrants tend to see a depression of wages in low-skilled jobs.

Immigration between 1980 and 2000 nationally caused an 8 percent drop in wages for authorized workers without a high school education, said Dr. George Borjas, a Harvard professor who studies the effects of immigration on wages.

Illegal immigrants tend to depress wages even more because employers can easily exploit them, Borjas said. Illegal immigrants are also, on average, less educated and more likely to seek unskilled employment, compounding the impact on the lower rung of the economic ladder, he testified.

If enforced, Hazleton's ordinance would have a positive impact on wages for authorized workers, he said. As an example, Borjas cited a poultry plant in Georgia where border control agents apprehended three-quarters of the workers, who were illegal immigrants. Wages in the area increased 14 percent to replace the workers, he testified.

Borjas is the first witness to testify for the city and against the plaintiffs, who are trying to block Hazleton's law penalizing employers who hire and landlords who rent to illegal immigrants.
Opponents of the ordinance argue it will lead to discrimination against Latinos and that regulating immigration is a power solely reserved for the federal government.

Under cross-examination by plaintiff attorney Ilan Rosenberg, Borjas conceded he had not studied the economies of Hazleton, Luzerne County or Northeastern Pennsylvania specifically, but maintained his national findings and studies of other areas could be applied to Hazleton.

Not all economists agree with Borjas' view of illegal immigration negatively impacting wages, Rosenberg also pointed out. Borjas called the debate "ongoing."

However, "the debate is becoming more settled in the sense of low-skilled workers," Borjas said. "More and more people are willing to say there is an impact on low-skilled workers."

The city called Borjas to the stand out of turn to accommodate his travel schedule.

Check back to www.citizensvoice.com for more updates.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?news ... 5154&rfi=6

"You may be here not in legal status today but ... you may (legalize) your status tomorrow,"

What's that got to do with being illegal today? Big deal, if ICE sees them today they're arrested today as they should.

He described the different ways a person can obtain legal status. Even if they were illegal, he said there are still ways to correct it and become a legal immigrant, such as a family relationship or asylum.
"Only an immigration judge in an immigration proceeding can determine your status once and for all," Yale-Loehr said.

Since we do have illegal migrants this is why we need ICE and immigration courts.
If not, unlawful chaos is the result no differently than any other unlawful activity.
Unfortunately our immigration court system has been abused and exploited; illegal migrants need to go through the process and identifying and detaining is one part of that process, made necessary by by fugitive migrants who have no legal right to reside within American boundaries.

Originally Posted by jean

03/19/2007
He described the different ways a person can obtain legal status. Even if they were illegal, he said there are still ways to correct it and become a legal immigrant, such as a family relationship or asylum.

This is a load. Don't you think any illegal who wanted to stay in Hazleton and could possibly qualify for "legalization" would have already applied for it? This guy also doesn't mention that "legalization" benefits are limited to 14,000 people a year.