“Mass immigration costs government $296 billion a year, depresses wages”
Washington Times (WT) September 22, 2016, or
“Immigrants Aren’t Taking Americans’ Jobs, New Study Finds”,
New York Times (NYT), September 22, 2016
Surprise! Both headlines are about the findings of a new report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, The study, according to the NYT, says that immigrants are not taking the jobs away from natives “…but with some caveats.”
The caveats include the fact that low wage immigrants (not distinguishing between legal and illegal immigrants) reduce wages and opportunities for low-wage native workers and for earlier immigrants. Another finding in the NYT account is that immigrants cost the federal and local governments more than they contribute in taxes [the reason for the WT headline]. But, to put a happy face on that news, the NYT coverage notes that the report offsets that negative finding with the finding that second and third generations – who are part of the native population – make a positive fiscal contribution.
The difference between these treatments of the identical report by two very different newspapers demonstrates – as the saying goes – beauty is in the eye of the beholder.