All he's saying is that unskilled workers are going to tend to
be poor and that poor people tend to use social services and
means-tested government programs. Krikorian is both disputing the
idea that immigrants come to the United States to collect welfare
rather than work, and the notion that immigrants who come
here to work hard don't collect welfare. By my reading, that view
isn't incompatible with believing that free markets will do more to
improve the conditions of the poor than expanding the welfare
state. The main difference Krikorian would have with our Tom
Bethell, well known for arguing "Immigration si, welfare
no," is as to whether the most practical way to deal with
the problem of unskilled immigration and welfare is to cut off the
welfare or cut off unskilled immigration.
topics:
Immigration
