It’s no secret that immigrants have become a focus of the 2024 election cycle. A lot of this nation’s immigrant population is already starting to wonder how they may fare when the next round of elections is over.
The United States doesn’t really have an immigration problem so much as it has a perception problem. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the immigration population of this country has spiked in recent years, now totaling 47.8 million people. Many of those immigrants serve a critical role in the nation’s economy, particularly when they fill gaps in the agricultural workforce.
Deportations won’t make farmers pay U.S.-born workers more
Undocumented and documented immigrants alike tend to take agricultural jobs that U.S.-born workers don’t want because they’re physically demanding and even dangerous. One political advisor says, “Mass deportation will be a labor market disruption celebrated by American workers, who will now be offered higher wages with better benefits to fill these jobs.”
Historically speaking, however, that’s not likely to happen. Current research indicates that for every million undocumented workers who are deported, 88,000 U.S.-born workers will also lose their jobs. That’s because companies typically find ways to cut back on labor — not increase wages. That is exactly what happened at the end of the Bracero Program in 1964 when farmers turned to automation to replace their lost labor force.
Regardless of what comes with the election, it’s more important than ever for immigrants from all walks of life to look into their legal options to stay in the United States when that’s their goal. Since the immigration process is always somewhat fluid, it pays to be proactive.