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by CrulesAll 144 days ago
Both parties had this view even up to a decade ago. It was actually right-wing libertarian fanatics that advocated mass unchecked immigration with a view to cheap labor. The Koch brothers(now singular) and the vast amount of billionaires wanted a complete amnesty. Ronald Reagan did give a complete amnesty to Californians. Even Bernie Sanders warned about this years ago.
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Immigration in the US has always been about addressing talent / labour shortage. Today though, whether it be in blue collar or white collar jobs, it is about wage suppression (and both the Democrats and Republicans are guilty of that). H1Bs and L1 visa (in IT) are great examples of this - one of my friend nearly doubled his salary after he became a US citizen, and says he now clocks out at sharp 5 / 6 PM whereas his other H1B colleagues feel forced to continue to slog on beyond that. (Interestingly, he is now looking to work for some European or Japanese companies, in the US, as he wants more than the 10-15 days annual leave American firms consider "generous", and also as some of these foreign international firms provide pension too).