Mae Ngai

I found the place that economics had/has on the status of illegal immigrants to be very fascinating. Although the economics is often talked about (the old "Americans won't do certain jobs")I found myself wondering how complex the push-pull effect of economics on immigration status might be. It seems that economic need for illegal immigrants is often somewhat kept from public view due to the many strong opinions about the topic. Ngai mentions in the epilogue that during economic boom times businesses often push for an easing of immigration policy because they desire the cheap labor.

This made me think about American policy during WWII. Taking a large amount of potentially skilled workers, in the Japanese, out of any skilled jobs seems counterproductive to wartime mobilization. In this instance the racial motivations and fears won out of the economics of the situation. Are racial fears the only force strong enough to defeat economic desires? I don't feel that I entirely comprehend why illegal immigration is such a boiling point the last few years unless the fears of September 11th are that strong.