Immigrants make up 17% of the workforce in the US and in no sector do they manage to overcome the jobs granted to nationals

Those who oppose legal or illegal immigration in the US usually argue that the fundamental reason for their rejection is that the community steals the jobs of nationals. However, this postulate has been demystified by several studies that show with figures that immigrant hands do not surpass in any work or sector those born in the United States.

Leer en español: Inmigrantes: ¿Una amenaza real para los trabajadores en EE.UU.?

The most recent of these investigations was published by the National Foundation of American Politics and contradicts in its content the proposals of the federal government that sustain the reduction of legal migration by half in a decade, in order to avoid the economic affectation of those born in the country of the north.

According to what is mentioned in the report, immigrants are not a threat to jobs in the country because they mostly carry out activities considered as "limited skills", which refers to jobs where the level of English is not determinant and academic training is not a requirement either.

On the other hand, immigrants who arrive in the country with a better academic training and language management, usually perform tasks focused on the Spanish-speaking community of the nation or open their own businesses employing more people, including American citizens. In California, for example, 37% of the companies were founded by foreign citizens, according to figures from the Alliance for a New American Economy in 2016.

A stimulus for the economy, not a threat

According to statistics revealed by a Pew Research Center report in 2017, both legal and illegal immigrants arriving in the US they do not surpass in any work or sector those born in that nation.

The immigrant community in that territory is estimated at 44 million, equivalent to 13.5% of the total American population. According to statistics from the last census in the country, immigrants make up 17% of the labor force in the US, but in no sector do they manage to surpass the jobs granted to nationals.

The statistics revealed by the Pew Research Center, show that the industry that employs the most immigrants is the domestic one with 45%, understanding in this area house cleaning, child care, gardening, and housekeeping. Next are industrial factories and agriculture where Latino employees make up 36% and 33%, respectively.

In the food factories, 29% of the total workers are immigrants; in the laundries it is composed of 26% and in jobs with administrative functions only 25% is occupied by this population.

In the area of ​​construction in the USA 24% of the workers are immigrants, mostly Latinos. Although this sector is positioned in one of the lowest positions in terms of employment of immigrants, is the place that concentrates the largest workforce of undocumented. More than 50% of construction workers have illegal immigration status, according to research from the Pew Research Center.

The immigrant community is a worker, and although it must work long hours to compensate for the inequities in wages due to its condition, it manages to contribute about 100 billion dollars annually to social security and 25 million dollars to the health system.

Under this panorama the figures show that immigration does not worsen the labor market for those born in the American union, on the contrary, it is an important boost for the local economy. USA For decades, it has integrated immigrant labor IGNORE INTO its society and expelling it completely would bring serious imbalances in industrial production, agriculture and the functioning of the American home, gears that would end up collapsing an economy dependent on the cultural and educational diversity of a nation.

Latin American Post | Krishna Jaramillo

Copy edited by Laura Rocha Rueda