Speech #1090149396

A Northeastern University study found that nearly 86 percentListen to this. I say to my colleagues. this is important for us. A Northeastern study found that nearly 86 percent of all newly employed workers hired from 2000 to 2005 were immigrants. For men. the statistics were more stark. In that time. the labor market for men rose by 2.66 million while 2.77 million foreignborn men found work. Listen to that: The Northeastern study found that foreignborn workers filled all of the new jobs created for men between 2000 and 2005. plus some other jobs. In other words. Sum said. immigrants have begun replacing nativeborn male workers. In the immigration bill floor debate. if we not forced the Democratic side to allow us to have some amendments and reduce some of the incredible increases in immigration under the bill as presented. it would have been shocking what the immigration bill would have done to the jobs and wages of American workers. Even after successful amendments that cut the numbers of lowskilled workers allowed to come in the future. the Senate bill will still. over 20 years. virtually triple the number of people coming into our country legally. not counting those who will continue to come illegally. That will undoubtedly impact our economy. That is why the House of Representatives needs to examine this bill very carefully before we go to conference. How about this one? Professor Sum is quoted again in the Post article: "Young guys are being displaced by immigrants." he said. "Some of my good liberal friends take issue. but if youre a young worker under 25. poorly educated. probably African American. the higher the share of new immigrants in your community. the worse your employment prospects are becoming." How about Carol Swain. a law professor and political scientist at Vanderbilt University? She is also quoted in the Post article: "What theyre doing is increasing the pool of people eligible to compete for the very limited resources that are available for the people at the bottom .... The obligation of the nation should be for the people who have been here for decades." How about the famous economics professor Robert Samuelson? He wrote an article in May in the Washington Post titled "Still Dodging Immigrations Truths." He quotes approvingly from the testimony before our Judiciary Committee of Barry Chiswick. University of Illinois. an immigration scholar. most respected. who said the presence of immigrants in the labor market: Increases competition for lowskilled jobs. reducing the earnings of lowskilled nativeborn workers. Because of their low earnings. lowskilled immigrants also tend to pay less in taxes than they receive in public benefits. � . . Hardly anyone is discussing these issues candidly. We can be a lawful society and a welcoming society simultaneously [as President Bush has said] but we cannot be a welcoming society for limitless numbers ... without seriously compromising our own future. Part of the future he is talking about. is the future of the American worker. Samuelson goes on to say. and I quote the line from Professor Samuelsons article: "Competition among them [lowskilled workers] depresses wages." He is talking about the additional flow of illegal Immigrants into our country. or legal immigrants. for that matter. Increasing competition for the American worker by increasing the number of immigrant workers available in the labor market will depress the wages for the American worker. In another article. Professor Samuelson. says this. He notes that Illegal immigrants already here represent only about 4.9 percent of the labor force. and in no major occupation are immigrants a majority. They are 36 percent of insulation workers. 28 percent of drywall installers. and 20 percent of cooks who are drawn here by wage differences. not labor shortages. He writes about how most new illegal immigrants get work by accepting wages below the prevailing rates. What would happen. he asks. if new. illegal immigration stopped and wasnt replaced by guest workers? Well. some employers would raise wages to attract U.S. workers.