Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order that will raise the hourly minimum wage for state government workers to $10.15. He's urging the Legislature to pass wages increases for private-sector workers, too.
The 73,000 Pennsylvanians working minimum-wage jobs can be forgiven for not getting too excited. The new pay rate is still less than half of the “living wage” a single parent would need to survive in Pennsylvania, according to economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Minimum-wage hikes will never deliver the serious income growth struggling Pennsylvania workers deserve.
The only way to significantly boost wages is to reduce the current oversupply of low-wage laborers so that employers increase pay to attract workers. Limiting the immigration of low-skill laborers into our country would accomplish exactly that, particularly in industries such as construction, landscaping and food service.
Pennsylvania has seen a dramatic uptick in immigration in recent years. Between 2000 and 2014, the state's foreign-born population grew by 62 percent, compared to about 36 percent for the country as a whole.
And because immigrants tend to come here during their working years, the state's immigrant workforce has been expanding even faster.
While the number of native-born workers in Pennsylvania increased by only 5 percent between 2000 and 2014, the number of foreign-born workers increased by a whopping 84 percent in that same period.
This growth has put downward pressure on wages throughout the state. According to a report from the Migration Policy Institute, immigrants in Pennsylvania earn considerably less than native-born workers.
So in industries from agriculture to construction and retail, Pennsylvania workers must compete against a growing pool of immigrant labor willing to work for relatively little pay. That means workers who are lucky enough to secure jobs have little leverage to bargain for pay increases.
Many Pennsylvanians can't find adequate work and drop out of the labor force altogether. In 2014 and 2015, the state's labor-force participation rates were lower than any time since the late 1980s.
The recent surge in immigration has also taken a toll on our state's finances. Pennsylvania's illegal immigrant population costs the state about $730 million a year. That number includes expenditures on everything from health care to education.
Fortunately, several commonsense changes to immigration law could reverse the damage.
First, lawmakers need to rethink the admissions rules that give preference to the relatives of current legal immigrants and citizens. Sponsorship should be limited to immediate family members and our immigration laws should always place the economic interests of current citizens first.
Another proposal would eliminate visas for unskilled workers — a reform that would remove some of the unfair competitive pressure placed on native-born workers by low-wage immigrants. Those coming to this country to work must possess skills that are needed to grow our economy and be able to support themselves financially.
It's time lawmakers reform the immigration system so it benefits American workers instead of undermining them.
Michael Siemien is a conservative political activist and a professional in the paper industry.
