Article on Immigration Battle in Arizona

January 10, 2006

The January 16 issue of the New Republic features an article by John Judis titled, Border War: The Fight Over Immigration is a Fight Over Identity.

Part of the story points out wonders, what, exactly, is this craziness about? In Washington, politicians and political organizations regularly attribute the obsession with immigration to illegal migrants taking the jobs of native-born Americans. Tom Tancredo makes that claim, and so do the two leading groups advocating restrictions on immigration, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which bankrolled Proposition 200 in Arizona, and the Center for Immigration Studies. That did happen in Midwestern meatpacking plants several decades ago, and it may still be happening in some parts of the country, but it does not seem to be the case in Arizona, where unemployment hovers below 5 percent and where construction, agriculture, and tourism are plagued by acute labor shortages. Illegal immigration doesn’t even seem to be having a dramatic effect on wages, with pay for unskilled work in Arizona regularly exceeding the minimum wage.

Unskilled workers currently make up 32 percent of Arizona’s labor force, and they are constantly in demand. Tom Nassif of Western Growers, a trade association, recently complained that the construction industry was “siphoning off” the migrant workers that growers needed in the field. “Farms will not have enough workers to harvest their crops,” he warned. Meanwhile, Arizona’s tourist industry says it can’t find enough workers for its hotels and restaurants. Bobby Surber, the vice president of Sedona Center, who runs three restaurants, two shopping plazas, and a resort, and employs 200 people, says, “Even though we pay larger than average, and full medical and dental, we cannot find enough employees.”