Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, spoke with American Immigration Council Senior Fellow Aaron and his colleagues at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday about how flooding the job market with illegal immigrants benefits Americans. I confronted Mr. Reichlin Melnik.
Melnik used to said In October, he said mass deportations would have a negative impact on many American industries, including services, construction, and agriculture. In a heated exchange with Melnick during a hearing on President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies, Hawley argued that Democrats would hurt the economy by allowing illegal immigrants to be part of the American workforce. He insisted that he would continue to allow wages to fall.
“Why are American citizens and those who are here legally undocumented immigrants who are not always paid minimum wage or given federally mandated benefits just because they are here illegally?” Why do we have to compete with millions of working Americans who can’t get jobs in construction, infrastructure, and hospitality because they are employed by illegal immigrants? Is it? [and] In the meantime, wages will be suppressed. Why would you want to do that? ” Holly asked. “I’ve read your testimony word for word, I’ve watched it, and I know the answer. You’re so committed to this ideological agenda of open borders that you’re not actually talking about workers. I don’t care about that.”
Melnick said he supports a “pathway to citizenship” for people who pass background checks and pay fines, and Hawley said he supports illegal immigrants taking jobs away from Americans and “reducing the workforce.” He claimed he wanted it.
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“So, for those of you wondering what America is like, here’s the Democratic plan,” Hawley continued. “Taking jobs away from Americans, lowering their wages, taking away their health care benefits, bringing over 13 million illegal aliens here legally, continuing to drive down wages, flooding the workforce, Please allow me to suppress all of the above.”
“Senator Hawley, you can’t flood the workforce if they’re already part of the workforce. This is an economic issue of today,” Melnick replied, adding that the senator is currently in the labor force. It made me scream that I was being flooded with power. (Related article: CBO says ‘surge’ in illegal immigration will put ‘downward pressure’ on wages for years)
Mr. Hawley and Mr. Melnick then discussed how working-class wages are affected by the labor force participation of illegal immigrants, with the attorney saying that wages are increasing due to the labor of illegal immigrants.
“Oh, have prices really gone up in the last 15 years? Are they up? Yes, they’re down. All the way down. What world do you live in? …This is it. Let me do it. The American people looked at your economic record and voted against it,” Hawley said.
President Trump has vowed to force mass deportations and strengthen the U.S.-Mexico border after taking office. Some pro-immigration activists warn that deportations will have a negative impact on the economy, as immigrants made up 18.6% of the workforce in 2023. According to To CNBC.
According to CNBC, Trump Vance transition spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said Trump would deliver on his promises to “deport criminal immigrants” and restore “economic greatness.”
Immigrant labor is causing “downward pressure” on hourly and weekly wages for American workers, especially those with less than a high school diploma. According to To the Immigration Research Center.
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