Immigration in America is framed as a black-and-white issue—more is always good, and less is always bad. Framing immigration in strictly moral terms by the institutional left and right has obscured the fact that the biggest winner of effective open borders is multinational corporations—not American workers.
This feature is designed to give junior and mid-level policymakers a starting point to explore the real negative effects of high legal immigration levels and visa programs that suppress American wages. In this Feature, you’ll read, watch, and listen to a selection of curated policy briefs, articles, congressional reports and testimonies, books, podcasts, and more on the real-world impacts of these policies. Read more Features here.
A special thanks to American Moment Operations Specialist Warren Dean for his research, and to Brian Dan-Ding, former American Moment Fellow, for his contributions.
GETTING STARTED
Article | Our Leaders Prefer Foreign Workers to Americans. They Can’t Get Away With It. | Newsweek
- A quick article on the culture surrounding imported labor and the danger of critiquing it. Pamela Long presents the common man’s feelings on this issue, and also addresses the specific affect this issue has on black Americans.
Article | Immigration Has Winners And Losers | Michael Lind in Tablet
- “In different arenas, then, an influx of immigrants can change the score by bolstering one team and weakening the other. Let’s tally up the scores, stadium by stadium,” the ‘Stadiums’ being: economics, civil rights, and party politics.
Article | Yes, Immigration Hurts American Workers | Politico Magazine
- George Borjas explores the wealth redistribution occurring through immigration, the negative effects of it on labor, and the immense amount of money being directed away from Americans.
Article | The Immigration Problem | The American Conservative
- Matthew Walther offers a broad analysis of the border crisis in the context of recent developments in the Biden-Harris Administration and underscores the unlikelihood of any major changes in the near future. A good primer on the issue for beginners.
Video | Tucker: There is No Real Immigration Debate | Fox News
- A quick video featuring Tucker Carlson’s classic wit as he discusses the lack of any discernible differences between the two major parties on the issue of immigration.
DIVE DEEPER
Podcast | Our Apocalyptic Border (ft. Mark Krikorian) | American Moment
- Saurabh and Nick sat down with Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies to discuss the dismal state of the American immigration system. Krikorian explains the absolute ridiculousness of our immigration doctrine, the elitist bent toward open borders, and more.
Policy Report | Revisiting the Jordan Commission: A Blueprint for Immigration Reform | Center for Immigration Studies
- David North reintroduces us to the Jordan Commission, a Congressional Commission created in 1990 that advocated for noticeably decreased legal immigration, no amnesty, and assimilation. Dive into the Commission’s research, and how we can glean policy solutions from it today, 3 decades later.
Article | Increased Immigration is Not A Simple Solution for US Population Woes | Real Clear Policy
- Why a larger population, boosted by immigration, will not necessarily mean growth for the American economy.
Policy Report | Amnesty Would Impose Large Costs on Social Security and Medicare | Center for Immigration Studies
- Immigration doesn’t just affect working Americans, but retirees too. Jason Richwine explores the lesser-discussed economic effects of illegal immigration and amnesty, especially on Medicare and Social Security. He estimates “amnesty will confer about $129,000 in net entitlement benefits to each amnesty recipient, implying a $1.3 trillion cost if the amnesty covers 10 million illegal immigrants.”
SPOTLIGHT—H-1B Visas and STEM
Video | “60 Minutes” examines H-1B visas outsourcing American jobs | CBS
- A great primer on this topic. Bill Whitaker of “60 Minutes” explores the corrosive world of H-1B visas, designed to be used for finding international talent—now exploited for cheap non-American labor. He sits down with average Americans who have been disastrously affected—even being forced to train their replacements after decades of work.
Policy Brief | U.S. Tech Workers on H-1B Visas | U.S. Tech Workers
- A must-read for those new to the foreign labor issue—U.S. Tech Workers presents the 101 on H-1B visas.
Article | Don’t Bother Learning to Code | The American Mind
- Pedro Gonzalez shows the human effects of H-1B visas, and breaks down the internal struggle in the Trump White House over these issues.
Academic Study | Is There Really a STEM Workforce Shortage? | Issues in Science & Technology
- Prof. Hira presents clear evidence that there is no pressing need to import tech workers to America. Learn about the STEM field’s wage growth, unemployment rates, and heed Prof. Hira’s cry for realistic and coherent research on these issues.
Congressional Hearing | The Impact of “High-Skilled” Immigration on U.S. Workers | Center for Immigration Studies
- A scathing critique of the H-1B Visa program. For those curious about how to correct the ills of this program, this report is a must-read, with the accompanying 2-hour congressional hearing on the subject.
Congressional Hearing | Immigration Reforms Needed to Protect Skilled American Workers | Economic Policy Institute
- The testimony of Prof. Ron Hira on labor and the protective intent of American immigration law, its actual destructive nature, and what must be changed. His sharp critique of work visa policy that does little to nothing to protect American workers is worth the read.
Academic Study | How and Why Government, Universities, and Industry Create Domestic Labor Shortages of Scientists and High-Tech Workers | Dr. Eric Weinstein
- Dr. Eric Weinstein discusses the artificial nature of labor shortages. This is of special interest to those combatting the idea of massive STEM shortages in America.
Congressional Testimony | The Impact of High-Skilled Immigration on U.S. Workers | Economic Policy Institute
- Hear again from Prof. Hira on the lies of the immigrant work visa programs. This testimony is a must for those interested in the data behind the destructiveness of the H-1B Visas.
Academic Study | What Shortages? The Real Evidence About the STEM Workforce | Hal Salzman
- In this “Issues in Science and Technology” article, Hal Salzman exposes the lie that America suffers from a tech worker shortage. Read the history behind the lie, and the truth that “despite naysayers, the nation is producing more than enough quality workers in scientific and engineering fields.”
Article | The STEM Graduate System Is Broken. Here’s How to Fix It. | Bloomberg
- An exploration of the Optional Practical Training program, a system similar in practice to H-1B Visas. Learn about its negative affects on the foreign labor it’s designed to help, American labor, and how to fix it.
GOOD READS
Book | They’re Not Listening: How The Elites Created the National Populist Revolution | Ryan Girdusky and Harlan Hill
- Authors Ryan Girdusky and Harlan Hill illustrate how on issues like immigration, American and international elites have driven the normal population into nationalism and populism. This book is a great primer on the intersection of politics and policy as it relates to open borders, mass immigration, globalism, endless war, and more.
Book | Back of the Hiring Line by Roy Beck | Roy Beck
- Many politicians use identity politics and cheap tricks to reach out to minority voters without focusing on the root causes of the issues Americans of all creeds face. Roy Beck tackles the specific and costly effects foreign labor has on black Americans. For policy researchers, this book is a window into the general apathy our leaders have toward black Americans when it comes to the issue of immigration.
Book | We Wanted Workers: Unraveling the Immigration Narrative | George Borjas
- George Borjas, a native of Cuba, explores American immigration, from migrant/nonmigrant job competition to the diverse cultures brought on by immigrants. Interested in diving deeper into the economics of immigration? This work is for you.
Book | The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam | Douglas Murray
- America isn’t the only country suffering from near-unlimited immigration, both legal and illegal. The Europe we once knew is vanishing, and its demographic situation offers a window as to why. Douglas Murray examines the dire situation – boots on the ground in the Old World.
Book | Sold Out: How High-Tech Billionaires & Bipartisan Beltway Crapweasels Are Screwing America’s Best & Brightest Workers | Michelle Malkin
- Michelle Malkin illuminates the lies of supposedly pro-worker politicians who ignore or conceal the nature of foreign immigrant labor. Learn the truth of the replacement of American labor.
WORTH A WATCH
Podcast | Our Apocalyptic Border (ft. Mark Krikorian) | American Moment
- Saurabh and Nick sat down with Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies to discuss the dismal state of the American immigration system. Krikorian explains the absolute ridiculousness of our immigration doctrine, the elitist bent toward open borders, and more.
Podcast | New York Values Come To Town (ft. Ryan Girdusky) | American Moment
- On this episode, author Ryan Girdusky discusses the effects mass immigration has on different parts of the country, and the need for a more restrictive legal immigration policy. A focus on regional issues stemming from migrant resettlement and general cultural malaise.
Podcast | The Masters of The Universe (feat. Attorney General Jeff Sessions) | American Moment
- Saurabh and Nick sit down with Jeff Sessions, former Attorney General of the United States of America and Senator for Alabama, to discuss immigration, the border crisis, and how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hurts the American worker.
Podcast | Is America A Nation of Immigrants? | American Moment
- Saurabh sits down with Jeremy Carl, Senior Fellow at the Claremont Institute and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior under President Trump, to dispel the notion that America is a “nation of immigrants,” the deceptive scholarship behind JFK’s “A Nation of Immigrants” book, and what is was like serving in the Trump Administration.
