In the United States, when people hear the words “immigrant labor,” most will automatically assume we’re talking about agricultural labor. However, the immigrant labor force is found in every segment of the economy. From the fields to construction and hospitality, to the medical, tech, and legal fields, immigrants are vital to various segments of society. Immigrant labor is critical to the U.S. economy, making immigrants a vital component of the labor movement.
This is an issue recently raised by labor reporter Mike Elk at Payday Report. Elk points out that journalists such as myself, who cover immigration, and journalists like him who cover labor, are essentially covering the same beat from two separate angles. He then points out how the labor movement rallied around Kilmaor Abrego Garcia because he is a member of the Sheet Metal Air Rail & Transportation (SMART) Local 100 in suburban Maryland.
Abrego Garcia’s case highlighted how labor and immigration are intricately connected when various other unions, such as the North American Building Trades Unions, began speaking up about Abrego Garcia’s case. Because most people can logically conclude that immigrants are vital to our labor force, it came with little (yet still offensive and racist) surprise that the White House would invoke its white nationalist mentality by creating even more lies to demonize immigrants, particularly Latinos.
On Labor Day, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement in recognition of Labor Day with no mention of unions or any labor movements that fought and earned us the labor rights we enjoy today. Instead, it focused on a blatant lie suggesting that 2.5 million people entered the workforce as a result of Trump’s immigration policies. The statement, attributable to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, illustrates just how Latinophobic the administration is.
“This Labor Day, America works for Americans again,” said Noem. “100% of all new job gains have gone to U.S. citizens, and 2.5 million Americans are back at work since January. Under Biden, 88% of all jobs went to foreign-born workers,” Noem rambled. “Meanwhile, DHS reforms have saved taxpayers over $13.2 billion. President Trump and I are putting the American worker FIRST. Happy Labor Day!”
The truth, however, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, shows a decline in the labor force by almost 800,000 workers between April and July, with a drop in the labor participation rate from 62.6% in April to 62.2% in July. The unemployment rate among Black people (7.2%) remained at nearly twice the rate of white people (3.7%). For Latinos, the unemployment rate held steady at 5%.
In August, the BLS revised down job growth figures for May and June by a combined 258,000, revealing that hiring earlier in the year was much weaker than initially reported, with the three-month average gain from May to July at 35,000 jobs, a sharp decrease from earlier in the year, according to the BLS. None of this stopped Noem from continuing the same Latinophobic narratives using outright lies.
“The U.S. economy continues to surge because it is safer to do business here. Under this administration, 70% of arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement involve illegal aliens who have been convicted or charged with a crime in the U.S.—this doesn’t even count foreign fugitives, gang members, or terrorists who don’t have a rap sheet in the U.S,” said Noem, showing that her statement isn’t about economics, but xenophobia.
While it’s not difficult to debunk these harmful false narratives, a growing portion of the country believes them just as they believed all the lies about “criminal aliens,” a historically Latinophobic dog whistle that has been rehashed thanks to the Trump administration’s propagandistic campaign for the presidency.
If you see anyone sharing the White House’s lies about 2.5 million jobs, show them this article or the links provided above to debunk their false narrative. Every member of the labor force is important, and debunking the lies that are meant to drive wedges among workers should be critical. Because those who exploit labor surely won’t do it for us. They benefit greatly from wedges in the labor force.
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