The Truth About Immigration

April 15, 2024
A fresh, plainspoken take on the perpetual immigration controversy, upending many assumptions. Hernandez, a Uruguayan immigrant, is a professor at the Wharton School. "There's no way that I would be a professor at Wharton without all the opportunities this country gave me," he writes. "Seeing this requires long-term thinking, framing people as an investment rather than a cost." Arguing convincingly for a more complex approach to the issue than current fevered debates suggest, the author delivers well-reasoned analyses of how the social diversity broadened by immigration directly benefits communities and how a well-managed immigration system contributes to subtler yet longer-lasting economic strengths. "The triangle of immigration, investment, and jobs is one of the great untold stories of immigration," he writes. Immigrant-rich communities create a "conveyor belt" of trust and opportunities, which leads to innovation, as exemplified by the unexpected growth of the Pollo Campero chicken chain. Local economies become more diversified and complex, while similar evidence shows a relationship between immigrants in the workplace and product innovation. Following his intriguing discussion of economic benefit, Hernandez offers an "unflinching look at the hot-button issues," beginning with the tragic story of how nativist surges quashed reasonable reform for decades: "We have compelling evidence that the 1924 [National Origins Act] decimated America's capacity for innovation, investment, and job creation." The author speaks to our current political climate with chapters countering accepted narratives that immigrants steal jobs and amplify crime rates, and he concludes with "How To Fix Our Broken Immigration System." Hernandez writes with passion and clearly enjoys the sense of "reaching across the aisle" to those with negative preconceptions, and he offers affecting personal stories that illustrate both immigrant motivations and societal benefits. He ends with a "provocative but true conclusion: the real national security threat is not allowing immigrants in." A highly readable, potentially influential contribution to the literature on immigration.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from June 1, 2024
Immigration is one of the most polarizing topics in politics today. In his first book, Wharton School management professor Hernandez offers a clear, evidence-based discussion of the many myths perpetuated by immigration scaremongers. Using journal articles and historical census data combined with personal stories, Hernandez definitively shows that immigrants (both college-educated and not) promote innovation and contribute positively over a lifetime to economies through work and investment. Immigrants also infuse cultures with new ideas and keep societies from stagnating. The effects of the exclusionary 1924 National Origins Act, "the single most impactful event in the history of immigration in America," shows that slamming the doors to immigrants does not create more jobs for natives, and a 2017 literature review commissioned by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine concluded that "the impact of immigration on the overall native wage may be small or close to zero." The current dysfunctional and convoluted system, based on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, has not kept pace with changes in society and the needs of employers. Hernandez makes a convincing argument for rationality in the discussion of immigration, and his book is highly recommended for all libraries.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.