Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, recently pledged to spend $1 trillion to fight the “crisis of unemployment.” Speaking at a Democratic Party presidential forum on social issues, Sanders said, “You want a radical idea? Maybe if we invest in education and jobs rather than jails and incarceration.” He continued, “We are talking about addressing the crisis of youth unemployment and unemployment in general.” “It is more important for our kids to have jobs and an education than to be hanging out on street corners,” Sanders declared.
While Sen. Sanders portrays himself on the campaign trail as a champion of the young and unemployed, his immigration plan will actually make it harder for Americans to find good paying jobs. Indeed, the core of Sanders’s immigration platform is a large-scale amnesty to the entire illegal alien population. Once legalized, the mostly low-skilled, low-educated millions of illegal aliens will directly compete with young and unemployed Americans for entry level positions. And, even the poor Americans who are fortunate to find a job under a Sanders administration, will see their wages decrease because of the surplus of workers through the amnesty.
Bernie Sanders was once a fierce opponent of amnesty, opposing the “comprehensive” immigration reform attempts in 2006 and 2007 because legalization would take away jobs from Americans. Yet, in 2013 he sold out when the Gang of Eight included a $1.5 trillion slush fund for youth jobs and fully embraced amnesty. Unable to reconcile the contradiction between mass amnesty and protecting America’s poor, Sanders is now acting like they are unconnected, separate issues.
