Progressives for Immigration Reform Calls for an Immigration Timeout

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to persistent unemployment and a sluggish economic recovery, Progressives for Immigration Reform today called for a moratorium on new immigration into the United States.

"The economy has been in recession or near-recession for over three years," stated PFIR Executive Director Leah Durant, "and neither the administration nor Congress has done enough to create new jobs.  With record high unemployment rates, Americans need policies that increase job opportunities. Bringing in even more workers harms American workers and their families," Durant said.

Added PFIR Board President Philip Cafaro: "The fact is, the US economy is not creating enough jobs per month to sustain current levels of immigration. The President's new plan to give 300,000 illegal workers green cards to work legally in the US will only worsen the economic prospects for out-of-work citizens.  It is time to bring some rationality to US immigration policy."  

The proposed immigration moratorium would exempt legitimate political refugees, but would apply to all other categories that bring in working-age immigrants. It would remain in effect at least until unemployment dropped below 5 percent.

Last Friday, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report revealing job growth was far worse than had been expected. Zero net jobs were created in the month of August. The official number of unemployed persons has hovered around 9.1 percent during the past few months, with the real numbers far higher.  Approximately 22 million Americans are currently out of work or under-employed.  

Numerous minority demographic groups have suffered gravely in the current economy.  The unemployment rate for African-Americans surged to 16.7 percent in August, the highest rate since 1984.  The unemployment rates for Latinos and Asians are also strikingly high at 11.3 and 7.1 percent respectively.  During the past three months the US economy has added a lackluster average of 35,000 jobs. 150,000 jobs per month were needed just to keep pace with immigration levels and population growth.  

During this Labor Day season, Progressives for Immigration Reform demands a moratorium on immigration to free up jobs for millions of America's unemployed. US immigration policy should be designed to benefit American workers—not corporations looking for cheap labor.

Progressives for Immigration Reform is a non-profit organization seeking to educate the public on the unintended consequences of large-scale immigration through research, advocacy and engagement.  PFIR favors immigration policies that consider the effects of immigration on population size and growth, and the working conditions and wages of both immigrants and native-born workers.  

SOURCE Progressives for Immigration Reform