The Texas job machine has generated 1 million net new jobs during Gov. Rick Perry's tenure, and an analysis of Census data shows that legal and illegal immigrants -- not native-born Americans -- filled 80 percent of those positions.
As Florida Gov. Rick Scott and others tout Texas as a model for job creation, the apparent employment imbalance between immigrants and native-born citizens threatens to deal another blow to Perry, who has come under increasing fire for his soft stands on illegal immigration.
According to Census figures analyzed by the Center for Immigration Studies, 40 percent of the new Texas jobs were filled by illegal aliens, 40 percent were taken by legal immigrants and the remaining 20 percent went to native-born citizens.
Using Census Bureau reports that disclose when immigrants entered the United States, CIS looked at new arrivals who took jobs in Texas. Of newly arrived immigrants who landed work there, 93 percent were not U.S. citizens.
"We estimate that about half of newly arrived immigrants who took jobs in Texas since 2007 were illegal immigrants," said Steve Camarota, of the Washington, D.C.-based center, which advocates stricter immigration policies.
A majority of work going to immigrants flies in the face of Texas' demographics.
"What is so surprising about these numbers is that so much of the job growth in the state went to immigrants, even though the native-born accounted for 69 percent of the growth in Texas working-age population (16 to 65)," Camarota reported.
"As a result, the employment rate for natives -- the share of working-age natives holding a job in the state -- declined in a manner very similar to that seen in the rest of the country."
The United States, estimated to have more than 11 million illegal aliens within its borders, continues to allow in more than 1 million permanent legal immigrants each year, plus several hundred thousand additional guest workers.
For his part, Perry does not seem overly concerned about illegal immigrants in the workplace. He opposes mandatory use of the federal E-Verify employment screening program, saying "It wouldn't make a hill of beans difference" in who was hired.
Perry also opposes completion of a border fence with Mexico, saying that its only effect would be to "increase the sale of ladders."
Such flip responses -- along with his characterizing critics of in-state college tuition for illegal aliens as "heartless" -- has hurt the Texas governor in presidential debates.
After his stumbling performance at the Fox-Google debate in Orlando, Perry finished a distant second to Herman Cain in the Florida Presidency 5 straw poll.
The latest opinion polls show Mitt Romney overtaking Perry here.
Still, Scott, who supports E-Verify and tougher immigration controls, touts Perry's economic record in Texas and frequently points to the Lone Star State as a model for job growth.
Scott invited Perry onto CNBC's "Squawkbox" Thursday morning to promote his presidential campaign.
Perry's supporters in Texas argue that the arrival of immigrants helped stimulate the state's overall job boom. But CIS says the Census data suggest otherwise.
"If immigration stimulates job growth for natives, the numbers in Texas should look very different. The employment rate of natives in Texas shows a dramatic deterioration during the recession that is similar to the rest of the country," Camarota said.
For the second quarter of 2011, Texas ranked a lackluster 29th in its employment rate for the native-born.
Florida Rep. Will Snyder, R-Stuart, said he regularly hears from constituents "being muscled out of work by underpaid illegal immigrants."
Snyder, who authored an E-Verify bill that did not pass last session, said he knows of no comparable employment study in Florida, but he sees pressing social concerns related to illegal immigration.
"There's an impact on public safety, and there are social consequences of having people living in the shadows," said Snyder, who has worked in law enforcement for 33 years.
"People here illegally are frightened of police, they're afraid to report crimes, they carry large amounts of cash and they are easily victimized. It's a subculture, and it's not the American way," he said.
Perry hails Texas' tuition break for illegal immigrants -- which he enacted via executive order -- as an economic-development tool. He reasons that higher educational attainment of everyone is in Texas' best interest.
Yet, CIS says Perry's policies aren't necessarily working out for native-born citizens. Camarota cited Census data showing that the employment rate for native-born workers with at least some college "deteriorated significantly" in Texas.
"It would be a mistake to assume that immigrants are only competing for jobs at the bottom end of the labor market," Camarota said.
Perry's laissez-faire approach received support this month from a coalition of national tea party and libertarian-leaning groups opposed to E-Verify. They calledthe employment-screening program "anathema to limited government and free enterprise."
That view -- echoed by an eclectic alliance led by the Florida Chamber of Commerce and immigrant-rights organizations and minority Democrats -- ultimately doomed E-Verify at the 2011 Florida Legislature.
Although research on the labor effects of immigration is mixed, Carmarota asserted, "It is very difficult to argue that the country is short of workers."
"In general, what seems to be happening in Texas, and the nation, is that immigrant employment gains are coming at the expense of the native-born."
Meanwhile, public-opinion polls repeatedly show a majority of Americans think the level of immigration is too high.
"The issue is sitting there, waiting for Republican presidential hopefuls to use it to distinguish themselves from other candidates," Camarota concluded.
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
