Closing the border is not only about security. Immigration sanity also returns the American dream to its rightful owners … the citizens of the United States. Like any country on earth, we have the right—and obligation—to prioritize the well-being of our citizens.
What policies build the strongest, most prosperous American families?
In this regard, immigration enforcement achieves two macro objectives at once: It makes America safer while also attacking the systemic affordability crisis.
The evidence is already compelling. The early economic returns on immigration enforcement are nothing short of stunning.
Fewer Illegal Aliens, Higher Wages
Real wages are the “mother’s milk” of Main Street prosperity. Most Americans do not own enough investments to really thrive from rising asset prices. Instead, their financial vitality flows from their paychecks, adjusted for the prices they must pay for the goods and services they need.
Thankfully, under President Donald Trump, real wages have risen every single month of his presidency. A big share of those benefits accrues to blue-collar workers, as this administration produces the best working-class wage growth for a new term since Richard Nixon took office in 1969. In contrast, during the Biden years, real wages declined every single month for two straight years, the worst such streak on record.
These gains result largely from at least 2.5 million illegal aliens leaving America, through self-deportations as well as removals. In industries like trucking and construction, with large segments of foreign workers, pay jumps for U.S. citizens. Even the biased New York Times recently admitted that “construction wages have been rising” due to immigration enforcement.
Border Control Equals Rent Control
Masses of illegal aliens crowd out citizens in the housing market. According to Apartment List, since Trump took office, national rent prices for Americans have actually declined by 1.4%. CNBC called the current trend “one of the more renter-friendly periods in a decade.”
In Los Angeles County, an area rife with illegal immigrants, average rental prices just fell to a four-year low. Even the ardently pro-illegal alien Los Angeles Times concedes that this improved market for renters flows largely from immigration enforcement, describing this new era as “finally, a renters’ market.” It must have pained the Los Angeles Times to admit that the price drops have been especially beneficial in “communities targeted by immigration officers.”
Of course, it’s not just LA. A similar trend in favor of renters blossoms nationwide. The American Apartment Association survey just revealed that 40% of owners and investors across the country say immigration policies are lowering rents.
Turns out the lessons of Economics 101 are real.
If American citizens do not have to compete against unjust, unlawful foreign workers, then they return home every day with more real pay—returning to homes that are getting more affordable, at last.
These trends point to much better days ahead for Americans, and especially for working-class strivers who were crushed by Bidenomics.
The Voter Mandate: Secure the Country, Grow Prosperity
Law-and-order makes sense economically, plus it makes for good politics.
Voter dissatisfaction over affordability is real and profound. For instance, in my most recent poll of battleground North Carolina, Trump’s approval rating dips to -14% net, 39% to 53%. By far, the lead driver is affordability. Right now, only 30% of North Carolina voters approve of the administration’s handling of inflation, and a massive 76% cite grocery costs as a primary inflation worry.
But there is good news for Republicans, too. By a big margin, the best issue for Trump is border control/immigration. Meanwhile, the Democrats leap to denounce the federal cops and restate their aggressively open borders radicalism. No wonder the Democrat brand is in free-fall. In my survey, only 30% of North Carolina voters give a positive view of Democrats, versus 54% who disapprove.
Conclusion: What’s Working, Works
So … a big political opening unfolds. The GOP can kill two birds with one shot. Keep people safe and ease their economic burden.
Immigration enforcement represents a just and reasonable policy approach. In fact, it is a perquisite to recover our culture, national security, street safety, and societal cohesion. Concurrently, sensible immigration control brings terrific economic benefits and provides a key solution to fixing the affordability crisis.
Steve Cortes is president of the League of American Workers, a populist right pro-laborer advocacy group, and senior political advisor to Catholic Vote.
https://tippinsights.com/immigration-enforcement-makes-america-more-affordable/
