Immigrants could revitalize rural America, Iowan argues

In Storm Lake, Iowa, last month, Ali Noorani, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, a nonpartisan organization working with faith, law enforcement and business leaders to promote the value of immigrants and immigration, participate in a forum on his book Crossing Borders, the Storm Lake Times-Pilot reports. (Photo from the Times-Pilot)

Revitalization of rural America depends on immigrants, radio news director Robert Leonard of Knoxville, Iowa, writes in an opinion piece in Time magazine.

Leonard begins his piece by describing his encounter with a group of Ukrainian refugees and writes, "My rural Iowa county, population about 33,000, and other rural counties across America, are positioned to do what we can to help not only Ukrainian refugees, but others. It’s a stain on America that while we are willing to help Ukrainian refugees, because they look like the majority of our population, but aren’t as welcoming to Syrian, African, and those coming from south of the border because they don’t. We should help and welcome refugees because we can, but also, if you need a cold-hearted economic reason, because we need them."

Noting that more than 100,000 jobs are available in Iowa, which has 59,500 people unemployed, Leonard argues, "Inviting immigrants, and having the support system in place to help them as they arrive, isn’t a cost, it’s an investment. The story is the same in many parts of rural America, where most of America’s domestic production of food, fuel, and fibers such as cotton and wool, comes from. Much of this labor is seasonal. Without labor, companies die. While the entire country is suffering from a labor shortage, rural America is particularly hard hit, in part because many rural Americans are moving to larger metropolitan areas. We need immigrants. Every rural manufacturing leader I have spoken with, regardless of party affiliation, wants immigration reform. They know immigrants can help solve their labor problems."

However, "immigration troubles at our southern border" undermine "all immigration efforts," Leonard writes. "It’s not clear that many Republicans actually want the border to be secure, because an insecure border is too valuable for them politically. In fact, some Republican attempts at immigration reform only work to make the problem worse. . . . The politics need to be taken out of it. The contemporary math of immigration is that we have jobs, and refugees and asylum seekers want to fill them. Our labor crisis can be solved by helping those caught up in political and environmental crises around the world. Many are already here, showing that they can be contributing citizens to society. Approximately 73% of farmworkers are immigrants, and they are coming vaccinated."

As for the argument that immigrants take jobs from Americans, Leonard says "Dave Swenson, an economist at Iowa State University, tells me that most immigrants take jobs that most Americans don’t want to do, mainly because of language and training obstacles. In 2020, foreign-born workers were more likely than native-born workers to be employed in service occupations, natural resources, construction, maintenance, production, transportation, and material moving occupations. Foreign-born workers were less likely than native-born workers to be employed in management, professional, and related occupations. Industries that rely the most on immigrants are now facing some of the biggest labor shortages."