OPEN THE BORDERS:

The Department of Labor reported last month that there were 11.3 million job openings in February, a number that has remained at historic highs for months. We should be opening our doors wider so that those seeking refuge in the United States can come here and help fill those jobs. Not all those who will likely gather at the southern border as Title 42 restrictions are lifted will fit the bill, but enough will that it could improve employment conditions in many areas. Even among Central American families who comprise the largest group of asylum seekers, adult family members will be eager to work if given the chance. College graduates in the Ukrainian and Afghan refugee population as well as truck drivers, electricians, plumbers, roofers, and others with needed skills would be a welcome addition to many communities. With hundreds of thousands of Russia's most highly educated, employable, and liberal-minded citizens fleeing for countries with freer societies and brighter futures, surely some of them would be welcome in the offices of American companies struggling to hire.

Though policymakers don't like to talk about it, unauthorized immigration has played an important role in the labor market for the last several decades. Americans intuitively understand this. A 2020 Pew poll found that 77 percent of Americans believed that undocumented immigrants fill jobs Americans don't want--and this was during the height of the pandemic when unemployment was rising. Certainly it would be better if Congress came together to fashion a sensible immigration reform bill that included better border security to keep out drugs and dangerous criminals, but let in needed workers.

In the meantime, the numbers of asylees and refugees likely to be admitted in the coming months will help ease inflationary pressures on wages and supply chain backlogs that labor shortages have created. The challenge for Democrats will be to accelerate the process so Americans can start to feel the economic benefits before the midterm elections, and to talk about those benefits rather than panicking.

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