August Jobs: Native-born Lose, Immigrant Workers Take All—And Illegal Infiltration Surges. Legislation Essential.

t is now clear that a quiet crisis is developing on the Southwest border. A September 12 Department of Homeland Security statement notes that, while the August jump in apprehensions was “consistent with an expected seasonal increase”—itself disappointing after President Trump’s election seemed to have broken the  pattern—the sharp increase in family units was “a clear indicator that the migration flows are responding to gaps in our nation’s legal framework” a.ka. judicial sabotage. Moreover, the recently-released jobs data revealed that August was not kind to native-born job seekers. The unavoidable conclusion: administrative remedies and jawboning—what we have called the “Trump Effect”—can only slow, not reverse, America’s immigration disaster. Ultimately, legislation is essential.

The Household Employment Survey, which unlike the more commonly cited Payroll Survey records the nativity of respondents, reports a total job decline of 423,000 in August. This, of course, is a jarring departure from general Payroll Survey euphoria—it reported job growth of 201,000—and calls into question the notion that incessant efforts to thwart Trump’s power have not diminished our economic mojo.

In August:

• Immigrant employment rose by 347,000—up by 1.3%
• Native-born American employment fell 770,000, down by 0.6%.
• The immigrant employment index, set to 100.0 in January 2009, rose to 125.2 from 123.6 in July.
• The native-born American employment index fell to 105.5 from 107.2 in July
• The New VDARE American Worker Displacement Index (NVDAWDI), our term for the ratio of immigrant to native-born employment growth indexes, rose to 117.5 from 115.4 in July. The all-time displacement high, 123.0, was set in April....