May 21, 1996 Contact: Jennifer McNulty (408) 459-2495; mcnulty@ua.ucsc.edu

UC SANTA CRUZ ECONOMIST AUTHORS NEW BOOK ON IMMIGRATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Forget the Border Patrol. Forget Proposition 187. Forget fences, and barbed wire, and high-speed chases. The debate over immigration has become so distorted by anxiety over illegal immigration that the rhetoric on both sides fails to capture the complexity of what's at stake.

In a thoughtful new book titled The Immigration Debate: Remaking America (West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press, 1996), economist John Isbister of the University of California, Santa Cruz, presents the pros and cons of immigration. He covers the economic, social, and cultural impacts of immigration--both legal and illegal.

Among the questions Isbister examines are:

-- Does immigration contribute to the vitality of the American economy?

-- Is the quality of the immigrant labor force deteriorating?

-- Are immigrants unusually enterprising?

-- Does immigration take away jobs from Americans? Does it reduce American wages?

-- Does immigration contribute to the growing income gap between the rich and the poor?

-- Do immigrants present a fiscal burden for Americans, who must pay for services such as education, health care, welfare, social security, and criminal justice? Or do immigrants contribute their share in taxes?

-- Will immigration harm the environment and deplete natural resources?

-- Is this wave of immigration unusually large?

-- Can the United States increase its cultural diversity without increasing conflict?

-- How should immigrant applicants be prioritized?

-- Are American border controls morally justified?

Isbister's review of the academic literature on the economic impact of immigration leads him to an unusual conclusion: "Half of the economists say immigration is wonderful for the economy, and the other half says it's terrible. I didn't find the academic literature persuasive on either side," says Isbister, a proponent of immigration. "For the most part, we don't know. The studies are inconclusive, contradictory, and methodologically flawed in ways that can't be fixed." Given that uncertainty, Isbister concludes that the social benefits of a liberal immigration policy outweigh what appears to be a slight risk of negative economic impacts.

"Certainly, much of the American economy depends on the work of illegal immigrants--in agriculture, as motel maids, washing dishes--all the lousy jobs employers don't want to pay minimum wage for," says Isbister. "And employers know they won't get complaints because illegal immigrants can't complain without fear of being deported. In that sense, immigration is bad for African Americans and low-skilled Americans who are displaced by immigrants who will work for below minimum wage."

But Isbister argues that the national interest is much broader than just economic and that multicultural relations are central to American life. "The economic risks are countered by the positive contributions immigrants make to the quality of American life," says Isbister. "Immigration is consistent with the moral values that Americans hold dear."

Isbister says the border crackdown now under way may actually increase the size of the undocumented population in the United States by encouraging those who make it across the border to stay. There are some 2 to 3 million illegal border crossings every year, explains Isbister, but the number of undocumented immigrants--including students, businesspeople, and tourists who enter the country legally but overstay their visas--increases by only about 300,000 a year. "Clearly, most of those who make it across go back to Mexico--some go back and forth," says Isbister. Making it more difficult to cross the border may encourage immigrants to stay rather than face the greater risk of crossing repeatedly, he cautions.

"The only way to stop illegal immigration is to stop employers from hiring undocumented immigrants," says Isbister. "You can't stop it at the border."

Illegal immigration is like the drug war, says Isbister. "The only way to stop the flow of drugs into this country is to stop the demand," he says. "And it's the same with undocumented aliens. If Americans want to hire them--and they do--the flow will not stop, no matter how tight the laws are."

Isbister, who is himself an immigrant from Canada and whose father served for a period as that country's deputy minister of citizenship and immigration, says concern about illegal immigration has spilled over to legal immigration: public opinion is running about 70 percent against immigration--both legal and illegal.

"There's a great deal of resistance in the United States to new languages, new cultures, and new colors," says Isbister. "But I do really believe there are great advantages of immigration to Americans. This is a country of immigrants, and our greatest achievement besides our wealth is that we've created a country of people from different parts of the world who are able both to maintain their identities and yet create a new whole, which is the United States."

Editor's Note: John Isbister is available for media interviews. He can be reached at (408) 459-2246. To request a review copy of his book, call Jennifer McNulty in the UCSC Public Information Office at (408) 459-2495.

This release is also available on the World Wide Web at UCSC's "Services for Journalists" site (http://www.ucsc.edu/news/journalist.html) or via modem from UC NewsWire (209-244-6971).

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