Coronavirus Wreaks Havoc on the Future of U.S. Immigrant Labor

Eric Martin for Bloomberg reports on how immigrant labor, including undocumented workers, have been dramatically  — and adversely — affected by the economic shutdown due to the pandemic.  The pandemic has triggered a severe economic recession.   Because jobs are scarce and the timing of any economic recovery is uncertain, one can expect a natural decrease in the number of immigrants, lawful and undocumented, who seek to come to the United States.  

The undocumented population in the United States has been relatively stable at 11 million for the last ten years or so.  It dipped a bit during the 2008 recession as the demand for labor dried up.   Contemporary history has demonstrated that the health of the U.S. economy appears to have a larger impact on the undocumented population than immigration enforcement measures.  Even though the Obama administration removed hundreds of thousands of immigrants a year, the undocumented population was stable.  The Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement measures did not have much of an impact on the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States.

The bottom line is that a poor U.S. economy, and a lack of jobs, will deter immigration and reduce the numbers of immigrants.

Courtesy of CNN Business (2017)

KJ