Immigrants to America Fared Better 100 Years Ago

A lot may have to do with the skills and education that immigrants used to arrive with.  Once upon a time, America drew Europe's best and brightest from overseas - those who wanted their hard work to pay off better in a land of golden opportunity.  But in the modern American welfare state, more immigrants are coming across the border with Mexico fully aware of the golden gravy train of free US government handouts, often arriving with no education, skills, or any immediate need to struggle to put food on the table.

Regardless of possible causes for the change, compare the following images showing green and red states.  In green states, immigrants (on average) made more than those born here.  In red states, immigrants made less.

In 1900, few immigrants chose to immigrate to the post-Civil War South, so the statistics are too low to be meaningful in those states.  But for most of the USA, immigrants arrived with skills and did as well or better than their native-born peers economically.  Fast forward to 2000.

The trend is very different - a much worse economic opportunity exists for immigrants in 21st century America.  I would argue that in 1900, industrialization was fast paced, factory jobs were growing, and skilled laborers were arriving.  In 2000, skills and education were more necessary for higher paying jobs and immigrants generally are not arriving prepared for high earning potential.

Illustrations above from http://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/2015/04/16/debunking-the-american-dream/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=referral&o_xid=65572&o_lid=65572&o_sch=Content+Marketing

Since West Virginia stands out on the 2000 map as a place where immigrants earn substantially more than their peers, I decided to investigate why and see if my suspicions are confirmed.  They are.

I quickly found this article - http://mountaineernewsservice.com/why-west-virginia-has-many-legal-immigrants-and-so-few-illegals/

Which says: "One of the reasons West Virginia has a smaller population of illegal immigrants is because it’s harder for them to find the kind of low-paying service jobs that don’t require paperwork and often involve under-the-table payments, such as restaurant work, landscaping or construction.... many immigrants who come here are or become highly educated, in large part because of the presence of universities like WVU.... According to the Immigration Policy Center, 51 percent of foreign-born persons in West Virginia who were naturalized in 2009 had a bachelor’s degree or higher."

Another article http://www.maptheimpact.org/state/west-virginia/ tells us that "In 2011 however, according to analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center, just 1.3 percent of West Virginia’s residents were born abroad—a smaller proportion than in any other state in America. While the nation’s foreign-born population grew by nearly 30% from 2000-2011, West Virginia ranked last among all states over that period, with an immigrant population growth rate of just 1.6%"

West Virginia's weak economy and lower average incomes and education levels seem to ensure that those immigrants who do come to WV are generally well educated and filling a specific position that the local population needs.  Perhaps because it is difficult to get to WV for immigrants with no specific career goal - as the state is not near a major cosmopolitan city like New York or near the Mexican border or near a coast for easy access like Florida - WV simply doesn't attract immigrants who need unskilled, low paying jobs.  And because WV is not known for an impressive school system, the state's native born population does not adequately fill the needs of those job opportunities that do require high levels of education and training.  For example: "The federal government has designated 95 percent of the counties in West Virginia as being medically underserved areas or having medically underserved populations. By 2020, West Virginia could be short an estimated 1,850 registered nurses. Immigrant doctors, however, are already playing a critical role filling West Virginia’s physician labor needs. Currently almost 30 percent of active physicians in the state are graduates of international medical schools, the fifth highest proportion in any state in the country, even though immigrants make up just 1.3% of the state’s population."

What does all this say about 21st century America?  We are still a melting pot, and we still have immigrants coming to try to live the American dream.  But in general, that dream is much less likely to be reached through unskilled work.  The era when a man could support a family well just by working hard is gone.  In 1900 labor was in demand, and decent jobs were plentiful.  In 2015 unskilled labor is not in high demand in many states - and government welfare policies do not encourage anyone to work hard for the same money they can get for doing nothing.  It is more important than ever to have specialized skills to make a decent living.  And yet for all our relative economic decline in recent decades, America is still a beacon of hope for poor foreigners who want to come here for a better life.