About one million immigrants enter the United States each year. But only one in fifteen comes because of a job offer or their skills. They come because they’re related to someone already here. Other relatives can then follow for the same reason.
In
the last fifty years, 36 million immigrants have arrived because they’re members
of a family. Adding over 24 million illegal immigrants makes some 60 million people,
most of whom came to the USA because of something other than a specific job.
Congress
is now considering the Raise Act, which reorients immigration away from the
unlimited chain migration of relatives and toward skilled individuals who can contribute
the most to America. The bill would especially help the disadvantaged. President
Trump has encouraged its passage.
After
the Civil War, the door was open wide for immigrants, causing wages to fall too
low. The Pullman Strike of 1894, when 250,000 workers halted most railroad
traffic, was key to the early development of unions. If the government had kept
better control of immigration, the strike might not have occurred, and government-supported
unions might not have become the rich, powerful, independent fiefdoms they are
today.
When
the federal government permits too many immigrants, wages fall, and unions
arise to force them up again. When immigration is balanced, unions become unnecessary.
