The Sunlight Foundation reports that $1.5 billion went to immigration lobbying from 2007 through 2012. The money was spent by 678 organizations in 170 sectors on 987 proposed bills.
Analyzing nearly 1,000 bills is no small task, even for those devoted exclusively to the immigration issue. Proposed immigration legislation can get complicated, with attempts to reform the entire system nearing 1,000 pages. Since immigration affects practically every aspect of American life and Congress keeps trying to change the existing law, you can see why the public might want to invest substantial amounts to influence what is being decided.
That, however, is not what is happening. The vast majority of immigration lobbying is conducted by narrowly focused interest groups that take positions contrary to the majority. The Sunlight Foundation found that ethnic activists, universities, chambers of commerce, and industries that prefer foreign laborers dominate efforts to influence legislation. In other words, disproportionately represented elites who benefit politically or financially from mass immigration are aggressively pushing bills that would significantly expand the legal system.
Their efforts have brought unprecedented success. The number of immigrants residing the country hit a record 40 million in 2010. This development comes at a cost to the public, much of which faces increased competition, diminished wages, higher fiscal costs, and social disruption. Those driving this policy can insulate themselves from most of the negative consequences by living in gated communities and sending their children to private schools.
None of this should be a surprise to anyone who follows the issue. We at the Center have tried to explain these trends, reciting statistic after statistic, ad nauseam. There are more than 50 million working-age Americans who are not in the labor force. Hourly wages have declined 22 percent for unskilled workers since 1979. A quarter of immigrant households live in poverty. Immigration accounts for two-thirds of the increase in the uninsured population since 2000. One of every four students speaks a language other than English. The consequences can be seen in vivid detail for anyone who wishes to look for them.
Most Americans understand the consequences. Polls reveal a consistent and decisive objection to current policy. But the will of the majority is not shaping our immigration system. Mancur Olson predicted this in his celebrated work on collective action. Mass immigration bestows concentrated benefits to political and business elites, so the investment they make in lobbying is justified. Conversely, mass immigration inflicts diffuse costs on society. Because its negative consequences are spread across the entire population, it makes far less sense for individuals to personally commit the considerable amount of time and resources it would take to remedy them. So we are left with bad policy that most people are against.
But there are limits to this model. Sustained mass immigration has resulted in more direct costs and more frustration. "Comprehensive" bills draw attention to this and serve as a vehicle to channel the frustration. Widespread opposition derailed recent attempts to pass blanket amnesty proposals, despite the support of leaders in both parties and the millions that were spent on efforts to persuade the public. These, of course, are defensive victories.
The immigration lobby is not without irony. The coalition that is bankrolling open borders is comprised of those on the political right who champion free enterprise while adding millions to the welfare rolls by employing foreign workers at substandard wages who are then subsidized by taxpayers. And it is comprised of those on the political left who champion the poor while significantly lowering their quality of life through increased competition. They bemoan money in politics but spend profligately to perpetuate mass immigration. All members of the coalition insist that this is what the American people want. That they have not completely gotten their way provides a ray of hope that republican democracy still exists.