They Take Our Jobs! by Aviva Chomsky Summary

They Take Our Jobs! And 20 Other Myths About Immigration systematically dismantles common misconceptions about immigration in the U.S., arguing that myths like “immigrants steal jobs” or “immigrants don’t pay taxes” reinforce systemic inequality. Chomsky traces how immigration policies are shaped by racialized labor exploitation, historical patterns of U.S. intervention abroad, and corporate interests, urging readers to reframe migration as a human right rather than a criminal act.

This book is essential for educators, policymakers, activists, and anyone seeking to understand the structural forces behind immigration. Chomsky’s evidence-based approach makes it valuable for debunking stereotypes in classroom discussions, while her clear prose appeals to general readers interested in labor rights, racial justice, and the intersection of U.S. foreign policy with migration trends.

Chomsky challenges 21 pervasive myths, including:

• “Immigrants take jobs from citizens” (she shows how labor markets are segmented by race and policy).
• “Immigrants don’t assimilate” (she critiques assimilation as a colonialist demand).
• “Border enforcement protects national security” (she ties border militarization to corporate profit).

As a historian of Latin America and labor, Chomsky grounds her analysis in centuries of U.S. economic exploitation in regions like Central America, showing how migration is often a direct consequence of policies like free-trade agreements and military interventions. Her activism in immigrant rights movements informs the book’s urgent call for systemic change.

With ongoing debates about border policies, climate displacement, and global labor shortages, Chomsky’s framework helps readers analyze how scapegoating immigrants distracts from corporate greed and environmental crises. Updated editions address post-2020 shifts, including pandemic-era essential worker struggles and anti-immigrant rhetoric in elections.

Chomsky advocates for decriminalizing migration, ending employer exploitation of undocumented workers, and addressing root causes like militarism and inequality. She emphasizes cross-border solidarity over nationalist “solutions,” arguing that open borders and labor rights are inseparable.

Unlike memoirs or policy-heavy texts, Chomsky’s myth-busting format offers accessible, conversational analysis. It complements works like Open Borders by Bryan Caplan (libertarian perspective) and The Devil’s Highway by Luis Urrea (narrative nonfiction) by focusing on systemic labor exploitation and historical context.

• “Laws don’t stop migration—they just make migrants vulnerable.” Highlights how criminalization enables wage theft.
• “Today’s ‘illegals’ are yesterday’s braceros.” Connects past guest-worker programs to modern exploitation.

While the original 2007 edition focuses on labor, revised versions briefly discuss climate-driven displacement as an emerging crisis, noting how industrial polluters disproportionately harm regions that then face migration pressures—a theme expanded in Chomsky’s later work Is Science Enough?

Some conservatives reject Chomsky’s open-borders stance as unrealistic, while progressives critique the lack of LGBTQ+ intersectional analysis. However, the book is widely praised for its accessible synthesis of complex issues, with Publishers Weekly calling it “a vital corrective to mainstream narratives”.

The book’s myth-based structure provides ready-made debate topics for civics or history classes. Instructors pair it with primary sources like ICE enforcement data or timelines of U.S. interventions in Central America to teach critical media literacy and policy analysis.

Beacon Press offers free reading group guides on their website, featuring questions about structural racism, personal responsibility narratives, and comparisons to current events. Chomsky’s interviews and lectures on immigration rights also supplement book club discussions.