We have conclusive evidence immigration enforcement is good for American workers.Well, at least legal workers. The culinary workers at San Francisco International Airport went on a one-day strike for higher wages and job security. Most workers at SFO are legal immigrants; predominately Filipino, Mexican, and Chinese immigrants, but not exclusively.

SFGate December 14, 2014 by Victoria Colliver

Union Eatery Workers End Strike At SF Airport

Restaurant workers at San Francisco International Airport returned to work Saturday morning, ending a two-day strike.

The strike involved as many as 1,000 workers who’ve been working without a contract for more than a year, according to the union, Unite Here Local 2. The union said the walkout prompted the closure of 80 percent of the airport’s restaurants.

“This limited walk out was intended to send a clear message,” said Jesse Johnson a bartender at the Buena Vista Café and a member of the union’s executive board, in a statement. “Workers at SFO’s restaurants are determined to win the job security protections and health care coverage we deserve. Hopefully, these restaurant companies heard that loud and clear, but we are prepared for any eventuality.”

However, what separates airport workers from the general service industry worker is that there is a de facto E-Verify program for employment at an airport. In a little known program, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Victims Unit (ICE SVU) actually makes an effort in the critical infrastructure area to ensure that all workers are legal and identified. The most prominent area of critical infrastructure enforcement is at airports.

Critical infrastructure in general, and airports in particular, are evidence that aggressive immigration enforcement and employment eligibility are essential elements in protecting American jobs and boosting living standards for legal workers. More importantly, immigration enforcement protects wages, drives down welfare use, and alleviates poverty for workers who are on the left side of the Bell Curve.

Time to expand the experiment in immigration enforcement and employment verification from critical infrastructure to the whole United States. The winners will be those Americans hardest hit by competition with illegal aliens.