The Economic Effects of Illegal Immigration

The Christian Economist | Dave Arnott

Most of the six million illegal immigrants who have crossed the US southern border in the last two years are claiming political asylum. They are being allowed to enter because of election politics. The real reason is economics. The largest migration in the history of mankind has taken place across the southern border of the United States over the last two years. Most of those six million people are claiming political asylum. They are being allowed to enter because of election politics. The real reason is economics. Americans make about $70,000 per year. According to CNN, the greatest number of illegals come from Mexico where they make $20,000; China where they make $19,000; El Salvador and Guatemala where they make $10,000; India where they make $7,000; and Honduras where they make $6,000. They say they’re escaping political unrest. You do the math. The Moral Effect If you stop enforcing one set of laws and continue to enforce others, the legislators might as well go home. In our book, Biblical Economic Policy, Sergiy Saydometov and I identified ten Biblical Commandments of Economics. One of them is Honor Those in Power. Actually, it’s the one I have the most difficulty following, because there are so many political and economic laws that are not consistent with Biblical teaching. But, still, we should follow the laws of the land. When we don’t like them, we should try to change them. But the current administration is taking the immoral stance of simply ignoring the immigration laws and allowing people to illegally enter the country. If they want to ignore a law, I would suggest income tax would be a good one to ignore, and I made what I think is a convincing case for that in podcast #96 titled Tax the Rich. It's almost comical when you think about it. People enter the country illegally to live in a land that keeps the laws. Honestly, if the country they were fleeing KEPT their laws, they wouldn’t want to leave. They are practicing corruption to escape corruption. Maybe that just confirms that we live in a fallen world. Sanctuary Cities Ever wonder why they call them that? Why is a sanctuary seen as a place of security from the law? The Jewish sanctuary is at the heart of the Jewish law, in the innermost sanctum of the temple. It was not viewed as an escape from danger in Biblical times. Matter of fact, it was SO dangerous that the priest who dared enter did so with a rope tied to his ankle. So if the Lord killed him while he was in there, his buddies could pull him out. So, why are cities that disobey the federal law calling themselves “sanctuary cities.” They are a place where the law is not followed, so they should be called “Hide-out” cities. Podcast #131 titled Abraham and Wealth Migration makes the case that people are migrating WITHIN the US to move from states with low economic growth, like California, New York, and Illinois, and are moving TO states with higher economic growth, like Texas and Florida. The same thing is happening across the southern border of the United States: People are moving from non-prosperous countries to the more prosperous United States. Lower Labor Costs Yes, it’s true that the more of something you produce, the less each one is worth. And, that’s true of low-cost labor, the supply of which is being increased with illegal immigration. That’s probably where the US Chamber of Commerce enters the picture as a proponent. But that’s very short-sighted economic thinking. Because, as I often saw in my Dallas Baptist University classroom…..ON THE OTHER HAND…… And, on this hand, you find that lower labor costs don’t improve the overall economy. It’s like this: When you were choosing your teammates to play sandlot baseball as a kid, you chose the best players first, right? Well, you were practicing good economics. That’s what we should do as a country also. An engineer who is paid $200K makes a greater economic contribution ...