American jobs and their shortage, especially for the burgeoning America’s middle class, finds many explanations, some plausible, some implausible, but surely the most common one is that millions of illegal immigrants have made their way into the country and the US workers, who expect more payment are being displaced by these immigrants, who are willing to work for much less and with little or no benefits.

This common belief ensures that the budget for the Border Patrol shows vast increases over the years and the clamor for constructing an unassailable fence along the southern border keeps making the rounds.

The truth, however, is that this hysterical belief that immigration is the cause of all job woes and that if this problem was addressed it would be the panacea for all wrongs, is misplaced and largely erroneous.

However, studies by economists have shown that the impact of immigrants on job undercutting is minor and their coming here in large numbers, has not resulted in lesser number of jobs for the American youth. The only group that has been impacted, that too in not heavy a manner, are those Americans who are less educated and who at the most have a school degree.

On the contrary research has shown that the immigrants, especially the uneducated ones, have provided American employers with a new source of cheap labor making their businesses more profitable and lessening the prices of some products and services and opening up opportunities for investment and jobs.

Economists believe that illegal immigrants increased the national income considerably, by as match as between $5000 to $6000 a year, contributing to the growth of the economy. The only groups of workers who are really impacted by the immigrants are the existing immigrants who are already within the country and they face new competition, competing that they are for the same type of jobs.

It may seem the logical assumption that when an employer gets the option of cheap labor, he will simply layoff his costly American workers and replace them with the cheaper imports.  Workplace employment does not normally work that way. Immigrant workers may be cheap, but their communication skills are very limited and a majority of them cannot speak in English. American supervisors or required to oversee work done by Latino groups. Moreover, there are jobs that are just beyond them and cheap or not, those jobs will remain the domain of the US worker.

The new pool of workers, opens up jobs that earlier could not be done because they were rendered unprofitable owing to the higher wages of the domestic workers. Immigrants increase the number of domestic jobs.

In countries were such cheap labor is not available there are less restaurants. Most American workers in US restaurants have their jobs courtesy of the poorly paid immigrants who work in the kitchen, do all the physical work and make things relatively easy for their legal American counterparts.

Not only is the food industry heavily dependent on illegal immigrants for profitability, the agricultural industry, especially in the Central Valley of California, would probably disappear without cheap immigrant farm workers, who toil on the farms from planting to harvesting. Farmers say that with American workers, the cost of harvesting their crops becomes so costly that it would be cheaper to import them.

Less-skilled workers should offer words of gratitude to the immigrant workers who protect them from the forces of globalization and technological progress that has seen American youth lose jobs to machinery and outsourcing.

The true worth and value of these immigrant workers will be known when they leave our shores, American workers who now claim that they are eating into their jobs will say, “bring them back,” we did not realize that they are such an important link in the work chain.

American jobs and their shortage, especially for the burgeoning America’s middle class, finds many explanations, some plausible, some implausible, but surely the most common one is that millions of illegal immigrants have made their way into the country and the US workers, who expect more payment are being displaced by these immigrants, who are willing to work for much less and with little or no benefits.

This common belief ensures that the budget for the Border Patrol shows vast increases over the years and the clamor for constructing an unassailable fence along the southern border keeps making the rounds.

The truth, however, is that this hysterical belief that immigration is the cause of all job woes and that if this problem was addressed it would be the panacea for all wrongs, is misplaced and largely erroneous.

However, studies by economists have shown that the impact of immigrants on job undercutting is minor and their coming here in large numbers, has not resulted in lesser number of jobs for the American youth. The only group that has been impacted, that too in not heavy a manner, are those Americans who are less educated and who at the most have a school degree.

On the contrary research has shown that the immigrants, especially the uneducated ones, have provided American employers with a new source of cheap labor making their businesses more profitable and lessening the prices of some products and services and opening up opportunities for investment and jobs.

Economists believe that illegal immigrants increased the national income considerably, by as match as between $5000 to $6000 a year, contributing to the growth of the economy. The only groups of workers who are really impacted by the immigrants are the existing immigrants who are already within the country and they face new competition, competing that they are for the same type of jobs.

It may seem the logical assumption that when an employer gets the option of cheap labor, he will simply layoff his costly American workers and replace them with the cheaper imports.  Workplace employment does not normally work that way. Immigrant workers may be cheap, but their communication skills are very limited and a majority of them cannot speak in English. American supervisors or required to oversee work done by Latino groups. Moreover, there are jobs that are just beyond them and cheap or not, those jobs will remain the domain of the US worker.

The new pool of workers, opens up jobs that earlier could not be done because they were rendered unprofitable owing to the higher wages of the domestic workers. Immigrants increase the number of domestic jobs.

In countries were such cheap labor is not available there are less restaurants. Most American workers in US restaurants have their jobs courtesy of the poorly paid immigrants who work in the kitchen, do all the physical work and make things relatively easy for their legal American counterparts.

Not only is the food industry heavily dependent on illegal immigrants for profitability, the agricultural industry, especially in the Central Valley of California, would probably disappear without cheap immigrant farm workers, who toil on the farms from planting to harvesting. Farmers say that with American workers, the cost of harvesting their crops becomes so costly that it would be cheaper to import them.

Less-skilled workers should offer words of gratitude to the immigrant workers who protect them from the forces of globalization and technological progress that has seen American youth lose jobs to machinery and outsourcing.

The true worth and value of these immigrant workers will be known when they leave our shores, American workers who now claim that they are eating into their jobs will say, “bring them back,” we did not realize that they are such an important link in the work chain.