The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has put up a website giving what it calls “10 Immigration Facts Everyone Can Agree To.” The so-called facts are both falsehoods and half-truths. Here is their #10:
U.S. Chamber’s Myth: “Reforming the legal immigration system will not help secure the border.”
U.S. Chamber’s Fact: “Immigration reform is an integral part of any effective border security strategy.”
FAIR’s Fact:
A principal objective of immigration reform is deterring future illegal immigration. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce apparently believes that the only way to prevent border violation is to open the border to more legal entry by unskilled workers who otherwise would come legally. That is a formula for perpetuating the hiring of foreign workers at exploitive wages and preventing wages for those jobs to increase enough to attract U.S.-born workers. The true way to gain control of the border is to remove the job opportunity incentive that attracts illegal immigration. That is a key issue in any true immigration reform.