A new analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies outlines a stark reality that policymakers have long ignored. From 1960 to 2026, the share of working-age American men neither working nor looking for work has nearly doubled, from 11.3 percent to 22.2 percent.
Even after recovering from pandemic disruptions, the rate remains near historic highs. Among men ages 25 to 54, the group most expected to work, the figure rose from just 4 percent in 1960 to 11.1 percent today. Foreign-born men, by contrast, now show higher labor force participation than their U.S.-born counterparts. Put together, the data shows that the labor force is growing overall, but that growth is solely driven by foreign hires, such as visa workers and illegal aliens.
The pattern is clear: as large-scale immigration expanded the supply of workers, particularly in lower-skilled sectors, native-born men without college degrees were displaced or discouraged from competing. Employers turned to foreign labor rather than raising wages, improving conditions, or recruiting from the existing pool of Americans. The result is a dual labor market that leaves citizens on the economic sidelines while expanding the foreign-born workforce.
This is not an abstract statistic. Men sidelined from work face higher rates of poverty, declining mental and physical health, family breakdown, social isolation, and other challenges. Society pays for this through reduced economic growth, lower tax revenue, higher welfare costs, and elevated crime rates. Yet the chorus of corporate lobbyists, academics, and left-wing activists constantly demand more immigration while never considering the tens of millions of Americans desperate for a job.
A nation whose young men are left behind cannot survive.
The United States was once a land of opportunity, where citizens aspired to achieve the American Dream through hard work. Now, they are denied a chance to even perform that work. Flooding the country with illegal aliens and other cheap foreign labor has turned the job market into a competition where whoever accepts the lowest salary wins.
Texas feels these pressures acutely. It is primarily our communities that absorb the downstream costs of poor immigration policy. As corporations import more cheap foreign labor, American citizens don’t just lose their jobs—they lose their country. Foreigners overwhelmingly vote for far-left candidates who promise lavish welfare programs and protection from immigration enforcement. Americans are left impoverished and disenfranchised.
Texans for Strong Borders calls for continued mass deportations and an end to the programs that have put American workers last, like H-1B visas and the OPT program. Immigration policy must serve American citizens first. We have no shortage of people; we have a shortage of political will to prioritize them.