Legal immigration is the primary source of low-wage immigration

Hear the words of Jeff Sessions, spoken with the stern cadence of one who saw peril in the gates of the nation: “Legal immigration is the primary source of low-wage immigration into the United States.” This saying was not uttered in passing, but in the midst of a great and bitter debate over who may enter a land, who may labor within it, and who shall reap the blessings or burdens of such arrivals. It is a declaration that shifts the gaze, not only upon those who cross borders unlawfully, but upon those who come by the sanction of law itself.

The meaning of this quote rests in the distinction between what is legal and what is economic. Many think first of illegal entry when the subject of immigration is raised, yet Sessions declared that even those who come through lawful channels may carry consequences for the nation’s workers. To him, the influx of laborers willing to accept lower wages, even under the banner of legality, risks diminishing the livelihood of those already present. Thus, his words call attention to the tension between compassion and competition, between the open hand of opportunity and the clenched fist of self-preservation.

The origin of these words lies in the long history of America’s relationship with immigration. For centuries, the United States has welcomed the stranger—the Irish fleeing famine, the Italians seeking bread, the Chinese laboring on the railroads, the Mexicans harvesting fields. Each wave brought both strength and strife. Employers saw in immigrants a source of cheap labor; workers already established saw in them rivals who threatened their wages. Sessions, speaking in the modern age, placed emphasis not on the unlawful, but on the lawful arrivals, warning that even by proper channels, the balance of labor could be unsettled.

History gives us echoes of this struggle. In the late nineteenth century, the flood of immigrants into the factories of the Industrial Revolution fueled American growth, yet also gave rise to poverty wages, overcrowded tenements, and desperate working conditions. From these hardships were born the labor unions, who cried for fairness, and laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set a floor beneath wages. The tension was ever the same: how to welcome the newcomer without condemning the native-born to despair. Sessions’ words, though modern, belong to this ancient struggle of balancing the needs of the nation with the hopes of those who seek entry.

The lesson carved in this saying is not simple, but layered. It teaches that legality alone does not guarantee fairness; what is lawful may still have consequences that burden the poor and struggling. It warns that policy must look beyond the letter of the law to the ripple it casts across the lives of workers and families. And yet, it also challenges us to remember that those who come through legal immigration are themselves seeking dignity, hope, and survival—no less human, no less worthy, than those who fear their competition.

What then must we do? As citizens, we must demand policies that protect the vulnerable on both sides: the citizen who fears the loss of his job, and the immigrant who longs for a chance to labor with honor. We must push for systems that value not only the number of arrivals but the fairness of their integration—ensuring wages are not crushed, opportunities not stolen, and dignity not denied. True justice must seek harmony, not division, balance rather than dominance.

Thus, remember the words of Jeff Sessions: “Legal immigration is the primary source of low-wage immigration into the United States.” Whether one agrees with his warning or not, the deeper truth is that immigration, in every age, is both blessing and trial. Pass this wisdom down: that the measure of a nation’s strength is not only in whom it admits, but in how it ensures justice for all who labor within its borders. For only in this balance can a nation remain both prosperous and righteous.