To great applause, the AFL-CIO has just reversed its opposition to illegal immigration and come out for ANOTHER amnesty. The political economy of this:

[1] labor unionism is declining among native-born Americans, so immigrants represent a new market;

[2] if illegals can be unionized, employers can't use them as scabs;

[3] the only labor unions that are growing represent public-sector workers, for whom immigrants are a client constituency – the California teachers union and public service union were the main funders of opposition to Proposition 187;

[4] unions are increasingly run by middle-class leftist professional apparatchiks, whose concerns don't reflect their blue-collar members';

[5] (to be fair) the rest of the political class isn't serious about illegals, so why shouldn't labor unions salvage something from the wreck? Arizona is debating reversing its decision to require proof of citizenship for a driving license. Has John McCain complained? (Licenses for immigrants - It's no longer a foolish notion, by O. Ricardo Pimentel, The Arizona Republic, Feb. 17, 2000)

For more on the political economy of immigration, Steve Sailer.

NY Times opposes AFL-CIO position, citing George Borjas. Wall Street Journal out to lunch.