Our De Facto Open Border Makes Inflation & Climate Change Worse

The midterm elections are less than two months away — and most forecasters are predicting a good year for Republicans.

Poll after poll indicates that a majority of Americans disapprove of President Biden's handling of inflation and the economy. Recent surveys also show they're concerned about the disastrous situation at the southern border, where migrants continue to cross illegally in record numbers. A July Quinnipiac poll found that immigration ranked third in importance for voters, behind only inflation and gun violence.

President Biden could greatly improve his party's odds of retaining its slim congressional majorities by taking a tougher stand against illegal immigration. So far, his administration has been loath to do so, and it's highly unlikely the ideologues in the White House will change now. Yet this single step would not only blunt Republicans' immigration-related attacks — it'd also reduce inflation and even help cut greenhouse gas emissions, a perennially motivating issue for Democrat voters.

Illegal border crossings continue to shatter records. So far in fiscal year 2022, Customs and Border Patrol has encountered almost 2 million illegal border crossers — already surpassing the full fiscal 2021 total of 1.7 million. In July, nearly 200,000 migrants crossed the border illegally — five times the number of apprehensions in July 2020 under President Trump. Under Biden, we are now adding the equivalent of a Houston-sized city to the U.S. population every single year via illegal immigration!

This surge is no accident. Since he came into office, President Biden has implemented a de facto open borders policy. How? For starters, his administration shut down the Trump-era Remain in Mexico program, which deterred illegal immigration by requiring asylum seekers — most of whom don't actually qualify for asylum — to wait south of the border for their court dates. Much of international law specifies that asylum-seekers must apply in the first country they reach, so Trump's policy was no right-wing outlier.

Next, the administration has granted "parole," a humanitarian reprieve from deportation that's supposed to be awarded on a rare, case-by-case basis, to tens of thousands of migrants. Finally, the administration has ordered prosecutors at immigration courts to throw out cases of illegal border crossings before November 2020. Prosecutors have already closed between 60,000 and 80,000 cases and could close around a million by 2024.

All told, millions of illegal immigrants have crossed the border since President Biden took office — and a considerable share have managed to remain here illegally.

It's well-known that illegal migrants compete against American citizens and legal immigrants in the labor market. This competition costs citizens between $99 billion and $118 billion a year in foregone wages, according to Harvard economist George Borjas.

What's less well-known, or at least less discussed, is that migrants compete with working-class Americans for far more than just jobs.

For instance, consider the housing market. Migrants need a roof over their heads, just like everyone else. In part because of the massive influx of new residents, the nationwide apartment vacancy rate recently hit a 37-year low — and the ensuing competition has driven rents through the roof. Rising housing expenses contributed to about 40% of May's inflation.

And consider electricity. Adding millions more consumers to the economy drives up demand for energy. And when demand jumps and supply remains relatively static, prices increase. It's basic economics. In fact, electricity rates increased by 5.6% in 2021, the biggest increase in 13 years. So far this year, they've climbed even higher.

Many state grids are struggling to supply enough electricity because they are already at capacity. For example, hot weather in Texas forced the state's utility to urge its 26 million customers to conserve power. On July 8, customers set the record for the amount of energy used in a day. Utilities in other states are warning of rolling blackouts.

Unfortunately, President Biden and his fellow Democrats -- once seen as the "working man's party" — seem indifferent to the harm suffered by working-class Americans as a result of his de facto open borders policy. They even ignore the environmental impact of illegal immigration.

Migrants living in the United States, whether legally or illegally, generally consume much more energy — and thus produce more greenhouse gasses -- than they did back in their home countries. Per capita, U.S. residents consume nearly 13,000 kilowatt-hours of electric power per year, according to the World Bank. By contrast, in Mexico, people consume just over 2,000 kWh, on average, and residents in the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras consume less than 1,000 kWh per capita.

Think about it. If you were seeking to inflict the maximum pain on the American people during a time of high inflation and scarcity of goods and services, you would implement de facto open borders. And if you wanted to cancel out any of the positive effects of the recently passed so-called Inflation Reduction Act on climate change, you'd also want to keep that border wide open.  
So how can we take President Biden and the Democrats seriously in their claims to strike a blow against inflation and protect the environment? We can't. Voters may soon punish this foolishness — and even deceit — in the midterms.

Mark Thies, Ph.D. is an Engineering Professor at Clemson University whose research is focused on energy and sustainability.