After posting on reports from the Migration Policy Institute just minutes ago, a reader sent me this newsletter from MPI announcing their top ten migration issues of the year.  In announcing the list, editor Kirin Kalia said this in the E-newsletter dated two days ago:

Our fifth annual Top 10 Migration Issues of the Year debuts today…

[….]

With the global recession touching so many facets of life, you won’t be surprised that the Top 10 of 2009 covers the various ways the economic meltdown has shaped migrants’ lives and pushed countries to adapt their policies. The issue discusses events that made headlines, such as the bulldozing of the Calais “jungle,” as well as the less visible ones, like Brazil’s legalization of Bolivian migrants.

Last Sunday, Swiss voters said yes to banning construction of minarets, surprising Swiss leaders and emboldening the far right across Europe, not to mention shocking Muslims worldwide.

See Judy’s good post on the Swiss minaret ban here.

This is MPI’s Top Ten (lots of good information here):

The Recession’s Impact on Immigrants The recession that began in the United States two years ago and spread to most other parts of the worlds has had a deeper and more global effect on migration than any other economic downturn in the post-World War II era. Among the immigrants most affected are those in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Enforcement Tactics Shift in the Obama Era – But What About Immigration Reform? – In the absence of congressional action on any broad immigration reform, the election of President Barack Obama was expected to lead to changes in US immigration policy at the executive level.

Buyer’s Remorse on Immigration Continues – The global recession has caused countries that once welcomed foreign workers by the tens and hundreds of thousands – particularly Spain – to rethink generous immigration policies as unemployment rates have risen.

What the Recession Wasn’t – Some speculated that increasing unemployment could prompt thousands of immigrants to head home and citizens of hard-hit countries to assault immigrants for taking “their” jobs and causing other problems. However, no country in 2009 has seen a mass exodus of immigrants due to the recession, and immigrants have not been systematically attacked.

Recession Prompts Some Governments to Cut Immigrant Integration Funding – Commitments to immigrant integration have proved hard to keep in Spain, Ireland, and some US states as governments reexamined their recession-battered budgets in 2009.

Canada Bucks the Trend and Keeps Immigration Targets Steady – Despite the highest unemployment rate in nearly a decade, Canada chose to leave untouched its long-standing points system and the number of immigrants admitted for permanent residence.

The World Is Talking about Climate Change and Migration – Discussions about climate change and migration ramped up in 2009, in large part due to a number of conferences and reports surrounding the highly anticipated United Nations (UN) Climate Change conference in Copenhagen.

More Countries Entering into Post 9/11-Era Information-Sharing Agreements – Over the past year, long-standing discussions and negotiations have resulted in several new information-sharing initiatives that seek to boost security while facilitating travel for legitimate travelers.

Some Relief for Immigrants in the Developing World – South Africa, Brazil, and Costa Rica – all destinations for migrants from the region – sought to make the lives of immigrants a little better in 2009.

Asylum Seekers Unnerve Governments – As violence flared from Afghanistan to Iraq to Mexico this year, hundreds of thousands fled over land and by boat in search of safety. Asylum seekers’ main destinations – Europe, Australia, and Canada – were not new, but the governments in these countries took a harder line in 2009.

I’m laughing as I write this because it reminds me of how the debate over global warming has raged for years with dueling scientists presenting their “facts” on both sides of the issue of whether we are warming or not, and whether man has caused the warming.  It took a hacker or a leaker to help us sort out the facts.  Now we see the dueling economists on the issue of immigrants and the economy.

The other day I posted this story about a new report from the Federation of American Immigration Reform that says immigrants (legal and illegal) cost Maryland a pile of money.   In response I received (from a reader) this study  posted at the Migration Policy Institute, with the press release title, “Report Finds Illegal Immigration Has Negligible Impact on U.S. Economy Despite Benefit to Employers, Unauthorized Workers.”   Here is the summary from MPI:

Illegal immigration’s overall impact on the US economy is negligible, despite clear benefits for employers and unauthorized immigrants and slightly depressed wages for low-skilled native workers, according to this report by University of California, San Diego Professor of Economics Gordon Hanson for MPI’s Labor Markets Initiative. The largest economic gains from illegal immigration flow to unauthorized workers, who see very substantial income hikes after migrating, Hanson says, suggesting that policy changes could increase the positive contribution that low-skilled workers make to the US economy by converting illegal flows to legal ones.

Basically it says the illegal immigrants are faring well as are the employers, but government is not getting its cut, so let’s legalize the illegals.  Of course the big question I have is would those immigrant salaries be so low that they wouldn’t be taxed anyway?

Then on MPI’s home page just below the above study announcement is this one:  “Tied to the Business Cycle: How immigrants fare in good and bad economic times.”   MPI’s summary:

Immigrants surpassed native-born workers in several key labor market outcomes from the mid-1990s through 2007, recording higher employment and lower jobless rates — but the trend was reversed with the onset of the current recession. The report, which analyzes employment and unemployment patterns over the past 15 years and two recessions, shows that immigrant economic outcomes began deteriorating before the current recession officially began in December 2007, tracing immigrants’ declining fortunes largely to the housing bust which began in spring 2006.

I am not an economist, so I’m not pouring over these studies and passing  judgement, however if it interests you, be sure to read this post from last year in which I link economist Edwin Rubenstein’s large body of work on the subject.

Be sure also to revisit the work of Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation where he reports on the cost to the US taxpayer of unskilled immigrant labor, here.

Bottomline, common sense tells us that a large pool of unskilled laborers will push wages down so the big businesses who are working hand in glove with the open borders groups (churches too!) are making out like bandits especially when we know that welfare/food stamps and things like emergency medical care (you, the taxpayer) picks up the tab for other areas of the unskilled workers’ lives.  And, by the way, even legal low-wage employees don’t pay taxes (I’ve heard that only approximately 45% of US families pay taxes).  I guess we need to keep our fingers crossed that some internal e-mails are leaked between economists so that we can better get a feel for who is telling the real story.

Readers, if  you have more studies on either side of the issue, please send links and I’ll add to this post.  Either put them in comments or mail to me at Ann@vigilantfreedom.com