"They Take Our Jobs!": And 20 Other Myths about Immigration

Myths Made in America

by Aviva Chomsky

Claims that immigrants take Americans' jobs, are a drain on the American economy, contribute to poverty and inequality, destroy the social fabric, challenge American identity, and contribute to a host of social ills by their very existence are openly discussed and debated at all levels of society. Chomsky dismantles twenty of the most common assumptions and beliefs underlying statements like "I'm not against immigration, only illegal immigration" and challenges the misinformation in clear, straightforward prose.

In exposing the myths that underlie today's debate, Chomsky illustrates how the parameters and presumptions of the debate distort how we think—and have been thinking—about immigration. She observes that race, ethnicity, and gender were historically used as reasons to exclude portions of the population from access to rights. Today, Chomsky argues, the dividing line is citizenship. Although resentment against immigrants and attempts to further marginalize them are still apparent today, the notion that non-citizens, too, are created equal is virtually absent from the public sphere. Engaging and fresh, this book will challenge common assumptions about immigrants, immigration, and U.S. history.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, Economics, Social Justice, Race, Sociology

264 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

About the author

Aviva Chomsky is professor of history and coordinator of Latin American Studies at Salem State University. The author of several books, Chomsky has been active in Latin American solidarity and immigrants' rights issues for over twenty-five years. She lives in Salem, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why do conservatives get easy arguments like, "They take our jobs!" and us liberals have to expound on the historic, economic, and social structures of the last 3 centuries to get our point across? This doesn't seem fair.

[Guillermo Galvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book and I want to say "THANK YOU AVIVA!" I'm an educated Chicano from California so it's a really hot topic here. Many people are greatly misinformed about the subject of immigration. It's not completely their fault since it is a politically charged issue. We tend to listen to those that shout loudest (ahem* Fox News). Aviva dissects the 21 most voiced accusations about immigration, which prove to be myths depending on racist conventional wisdom.

Aviva elaborates on how neoliberal policies, primarily deregulation, in international business has allowed the exploitation of third world countries. The current immigration debate in the US is only fragment of a larger picture. She presents a complex issue in a straight forward manner, with her father's (Noam Chomsky) dry humor and moral obligation.

Another work in the name of rational thinking!

(Includes a works cited section to fact check.)

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone admittedly pretty ignorant of the ins and outs of immigration issues, I really got a lot out of this book. It examines immigration into the US as a result of structural factors (globalization, colonialism, neoliberalism) that help to explain a lot of the immigration trends today. Chomsky's account of the evolution of the relationship between race and citizenship in the US is very interesting, as well as the chapter on assimilation into racial hierarchies into the US--and how that negatively affects goals of academic achievement and success for young people. A very disturbing read, but I think a very important one.

[Phyllis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book addresses 20 myths we have about U.S. immigration. Coming from a Dutch family that immigrated to the U.S. in 1908 I have held an unrealistic and prejudice view of our immigration history. My family was the preferred group of immigrants, i.e. white, northern european, and wanting to work hard to fit into American society. My biggest misconception was that since we were decendents of immigrants we all start out on equal footing...how naive is that?

I'm sure this book will challenge your beliefs on this subject as well.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written in the style of a college textbook. It is packed with facts, so you need to slow down so that you will not skip over somethingimportant. The author takes twenty one myths about immigration and through careful research provides the truth. I must admit that I was expecting quick replies that could be used whenever we heard the myths. It is not that simple.

There is quite a lot about the history of immigration, this the third book that I have read that included that so that is mostly old ground for me. The most intriguing myth to me is "The Rules Apply to Everyone, So New Immigrants Need to Follow Them, Just As Immigrants in the Past Did". My earliest ancestor was actually convicted of starting a mutiny and the only thing that saved him from being executed was begging the government officials for his life so that he could take care of his wife and children. I wonder how many on the Mayflower knew of his and would they have been uncomfortable of having a convicted criminal aboard the ship.

Towards the end of the book, the author lays all suggestions of how immigration should really be handled. I agree with her on all of them, I just it may be difficult to get those changes made. The general public may need a lot of convincing.

I received a finished copy of this book from the Publisher as a win from FirstReads but that in no way made a difference in my thoughts or feelings in my review.

[MichelleCH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each chapter takes a look at different myths associated with immigration and uses data to disprove each issue. For example, in the chapter on immigrants taking American jobs, the author does a good job of showing how the job market is really elastic. The job market contrasts and expands - really with the ebb and flow of demand ~ the best point being that in times of population expansion there are more jobs and more consumers to support the economy. The influx of foreign immigrants is really a mechanism to create a stronger econonmy and does not take jobs from citizens.The book also gives a historical look at immigration and citizenship policy in the US giving insight to the often confusing and nonsensical approach our government has often adapted. Only in the last chapter are there some suggestions made as to how we might rework this complicated system. A good organized read for a complex subject.

[Mom · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was on a reading list for women of our church.
Aviva Chomsky is now @ the top of my prayer list.
I had hoped this book would better explain why we have so many illegal people siphoning our country dry.
Instead the introduction sets a negative tone which is held throughout the book.
I am now convinced even more the illegals should be deported, supports stopped for their welfare and sustenance.
The hue and cry about the newest "native-born" children of the illegals just underscores the way the system is broken and the illegals use these children as a means of remaining in the country.
Another example: an illegal will pay hundreds of dollars to a guide to get a trip across the border or smuggled in some other way, why don't they use the same stash f dollars to support their families?

[Steev Hise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book about immigration. It's from a leftist, even Marxist perspective, so you might get triggered if you fall on the opposite side of the political spectrum. But the facts and arguments can't be ignored. The book takes on a slough of different misconceptions and lies about the issue and cuts through the crap in a clear, concise, no-nonsense and straightforward manner. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants more clarity on the subject. I especially recommend it as a companion read to "Let Them In," a book by a Wall Street Journalist reporter that takes on many of the same myths, but debunks them from a purely conservative and free market perspective. Between these 2 books you'll have all the ammunition you would need to talk to anybody about immigration.

[Jay Daily Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a five-star book in the sense of the information given to the reader about the topic of immigration. I only gave it three stars just because it's more a textbook and the reading even though interesting it's not my cup of tea. I would want people to get educated on the topic and this is a great book to start.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you have friends or family that have been trained to hate migrants and refugees? Do they constantly spew Fox News talking points? Send them this book or read it yourself so you can help reprogram them.

[Andy Solis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for Ed. Studies 457, not bad. Good if you’ve never interacted with a Latiné person. Has some cool stuff on the ties between immigration and economic exploitation

[JC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Migrant politics often seems like a pivotal fulcrum for the left attracting more attention than a purely utilitarian calculus might imply it would. While a radical ‘option for the poor’ would imply other likelier issues to surface to the top, I think migration issues sweepingly encapsulate a number of more broadly reaching issues such that it becomes a logical congregating point for leftist activity. It highlights issues of acute global inequality and exploitation, colonial history, Western hegemony, racism, arbitrary deployment of state power (and its fiat perpetuation of national borders), flows of global capital, and state-sanctioned violence. Living in Canada, and visiting Singapore, one of the most salient things I began realizing growing up was that the people at the bottom of the pile, maybe not globally but certainly within the country I lived in, were migrant workers. They were the focus point of global development classes, OPIRG meetings, May Day rallies, Singaporean activist circles, among many other things of that sort — possibly because injustice unfolding within such proximity makes certain demands and claims on you that are difficult to ignore (an observation Rousseau is known for). Why should labour and detention protections fail to apply to migrant workers?

I think all the chapters in this book are worth reading, but I will mention just a few that were particularly memorable:

The introduction briefly made a fairly interesting case for why undocumented populations should be allowed to vote, pointing out cases where voting rights historically in America had less to do with having citizenship than happening to be a white male property owner (even one living overseas).

The chapter discussing the notion of immigrants driving down wages (Myth 2), is a really important one as well as the one detailing the racist history of certain mainstream American unions (Myth 3), because I have seen some segments of the left opportunistically pander to this sort of logic.

The chapter on following the ‘rules of immigration’ and not entering ‘illegally’ (Myth 7) did a really good job of explaining how throughout American history these rules were very consistently racist, and your ability to migrate to the US had a lot more to do with being white than anything else.

The chapter on political dimensions of refugee acceptance (Myth 9), where countries like the United States (and certainly Canada) accepted refugees from communist/socialist countries (Cuba, Venezuela, Vietnam) at a much higher rate than other countries, even those that harboured more dire economic or politically oppressive circumstances. There is a very contemporary example of this occurring under Trudeau in the case of Venezuela (and even Syria to an extent, though that quickly fizzled out after western Islamophobia won out).

I think the most fascinating chapter for me was about assimilation (Myth 12), and how the longer migrants from other countries stay in the US, the poorer they often become, because over the generations they begin to assimilate to the social and racial hierarchies that exist in American/Western culture and accept their ‘place’ in these hierarchies. I think this was one of the best criticisms of the common focus on how assimilative migrants should be.

I’m fairly bad at summarizing things, so anyone might well be better off simply taking a look at the book itself. Writing this has likely been more a disservice to the book than anything else.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the formation of a "well, what comes next?" plan seems to be an after thought in the book, I think the issues brought to light in the book are well researched. This is definitely an important book to read if you want to have intelligent conversations about immigration.

[David Anguiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aviva Chomsky dispels the racist mythology surrounding Mexican immigration to the United States. She also provides a extremely concise history of US immigration going as far back as the thirteen colonies.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a very compelling read, but full of great information and analysis. Perfect to use when arguing with any anti-immigration hardhead.

[CTEP]

I read “They Take our Jobs” and 20 Other Myths about Immigration by Aviva Chomsky for the April Book Club because the reality of what I see in my service can sometimes be very different from what many people and politicians portray it as. The debate surrounding the issue of immigration is complex, loaded, and often misinformed; Chomsky’s book sets out to clear the air of the common misconceptions about immigration that obscure the real nature of the interaction between US society, law, and economy with immigration. She frames the immigrants of today and the past as another group that is and has been excluded from mainstream society. Just as the landless, the women, the poor, and the different have been discriminated against on the books and in practice, immigrants comprise a sector of society that is considered as the “other”, and their exclusion is still seen as legitimate in the eyes of many people due to their legal and social status within the nation state. According to Chomsky, sectors of the population that perform an important economic function have been deprived of rights in order to rationalize the overall system of social and legal inequity that ensures their spot on a lower rung of the social ladder. Chomsky challenges, disproves, and renders illegitimate many popular phrases, from the nebulous “immigration is a problem” the social “Immigrants threaten the national culture” to the economic “immigrants take American jobs” using a combination of facts/figures (an often underutilized resource in politics) and logical reasoning based on history and society. The most important myth she takes on is “the problems that this book raises are so huge that there’s nothing we can do about them” in which she concludes that immigration is a part of an interconnected global system (capitalism, neoliberalism, globalization, neocolonialism, etc.) shaped by history and economics, and the laws and opinions formed around it are just inadequate and unreasonable reactions to this ever-present phenomena, and we the best way to shape our policy around it is to base it off of a concerted effort to understand the causes of immigration and the true economic and social effects it precipitates. I recommend this book because it is a perfect crash course in understanding immigration that can start you on your way to being an expert on immigration compared to the vast majority of people while being an interesting and easy read.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredibly informative. Many of the early ideas Aviva discusses, such as patterns of migration and escaping persecution, are concepts taught as early as high school. These migratory factors are familiar to most Americans’ geopolitical understanding. However, with the American fundamentalist focus on the pursuit of influence and power, politicians and media pundits have spent decades sowing division and fostering communities that lack empathy. This has created the perfect conditions for preventing unity among the working class. Ultimately, this division is a product of capitalism and its relentless consumption of livelihoods in the pretend name of “fixing the immigration problem.”

[Nicole Heim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an engaging and eye-opening read. I especially appreciated the structure of the book—breaking down common myths one by one made the content clear, digestible, and impactful. Chomsky’s tone is both informative and direct, which made even complex ideas feel approachable.
That said, some of the historical and economic references went a bit over my head—I found myself wishing I had more background knowledge going in.
Still, the book challenged my thinking and gave me a much clearer lens on immigration in the U.S. I’d definitely recommend it as a starting point for anyone wanting to dive into the myths we hear way too often.

[Roxana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really wish more people would read this. It puts three centuries of economic and racial inequalities into historical perspective, and makes it very difficult to imagine the U.S. as "post-racial" and as promoting "liberty and justice for all". It's also super easy to read and each of the 20 myths is broken down in simple language. The facile axioms that are used to scapegoat immigrants and that are low-key racist but are able to appear as though they are not, are ruthlessly discredited in this book. I wish I had read this back when it came out.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would highly reccomend to anyone who wants to understand the arguments for and against immigration in the United States. Chomsky writes in a clear and compelling way -- it's impossible to misunderstand her strong views on immigration -- and by the end of the book, I was somewhat appalled by how far we have to go as a country in our battle for immigration reform. Perhaps not the most entertaining read at times, but definitely worth it.

[Jennifer Triplett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read if you think you know anything about immigration. I appreciate the bevy of sources and broad reach of the book (including into immigration history in the US, which is fascinating and MESSY). Definitely a strong focus on Mexican and Central American immigration in the book, but that is due to its relevance currently. Would love to see an updated version of this come out soon since immigration has changed so much so quickly.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t think that this book will change anyone’s mind concerning immigration. Those the desire immigration perform well already agree with most of the arguments made in this book. Those that are vehemently anti-immigrant will find many excuses to discredit the book. I liked the authors arguments but found at times it sounded a little biased or leaning. It was a good book, but I doubt it will change the minds of those who disagree with this issue

[Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and a good historical recollection of the migration "issue" focused on the United States, the author shows the current laws and status of migrants through an analytical perspective of history and institutions, colonialism and inequality which explains perfectly many of the myths. The book, even though written more than a decade ago, is still relevant today, I would say even more so now and will continue to be as inequality only continues to grow.

[Reix · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that everybody should read, specially racist people, just to try to think at least a little before saying their stupid and racist comments. Ignorance is a dangerous thing and, unfortunately, there or a lot of ignorant people out there in the world, spreading their ignorance and their lies.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned quite a bit in reading this, (even reading it in 2024, & it was published in 2007!) It's kind of heavy in numbers & statistics, but despite that it was interesting to learn some of the 'why' & where much of this stems from. It reads fairly fast, considering the heavy topic. It was worth the read.

[Ashley Mellinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there was a way to give this 6/5 stars, I would. This book opened my eyes to so much. I’m a different person because of it. I have more knowledge and therefore can be a better activist, and hopefully a better provider to my patients.

[Emma Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I had to read it for a Human Rights course and ended up reading the whole thing. The only thing I didn’t like is I thought that it was confusing at time but it all came together in the end.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sobering review of facts regarding migrants entering the US, with historical precedent on laws and attitudes. Although myths are debunked, readers must come to terms with our policies having always been based on racism.

[Casie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great informative read to have thoughtful conversation about the inhumane and cruel immigration policies in this country. It also shows how both Republican and Democrat leaders are to blame. Highly recommend this as a starting point to understanding this complicated system. 

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, easy to read book that concisely dismantles many myths about immigration. I probably won't retain the specifics, but still a worth-while reminder not to believe everything you hear.