Let's Not Blame Immigrants for High Unemployment Rates

Abstract

Given the current high unemployment rates in America it is predictable that some seeking to cast blame are calling on America to “round up the usual suspects,” in the words of Captain Renault in the movie Casablanca. Throughout American history, immigrants have been among the usual suspects when looking for culprits in times of economic trouble. However, an understanding of how immigrants function in the labor market and an examination of the likely causes of high unemployment rates illustrate why the foreign- born are not at fault for unemployment in America.

Keywords: causes of U.S. unemployment, illegal immigration from Mexico, skilled immigrants, economic effects of immigration in the United States, American immigration policy, federal government immigration laws, immigration and the labor market

JEL Classification: K37