During an interview with Vox’s Ezra Klein that took place on June 22 and was released today, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton argued that while it doesn’t displace a “big” amount of jobs, “if you are employing undocumented workers, and no one is holding you accountable, which we haven’t, we haven’t enforced those laws in a very comprehensive way, then it’s easy to undercut the market.”
Hillary began by saying that “[I]mmigration has been and continues to be good for our economy.” She also touted “comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship” as “good for our economy.”
She later stated, “I don’t want to mix that with other kinds of changes in visas, and other concerns that, particularly high-value technical companies have. In fact, I think keeping the pressure on them helps us resolve the bigger problem, and then we can look to see what else, if anything, can and should be done.” Hillary added, “The many stories of people training their replacements from some foreign country are heartbreaking, and it is obviously a cost-cutting measure to be able to pay people less than you would pay an American worker.”
Hillary also argued, “[T]here is an unlevel playing field, because, if you are employing undocumented workers, and nobody is holding you accountable, which we haven’t, we haven’t enforced those laws in a very comprehensive way, then it’s easy to undercut the market.”
She added, “Is it a big job displacement? No. But is it something? Yes. Is it something that is painful and personally hurtful to somebody you know, maybe not you, but someone down the line? Absolutely. And I think it’s a mistake to just make the economic argument. And I think it’s important that we see the undocumented as people with real stories, with kids who are going to school, with people working 70-80 hours a week to have a good life. And it’s also important we see the other side of the story, with people who feel doubly hammered. They feel hammered by global competition, particularly from China, taking their jobs, and then they feel hammered from within by employers who are willing to hire undocumented workers and never get held accountable for it.”
(h/t GOP War Room)
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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