Employment and Wages

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

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Immigrant Workers Enhance and Expand the U.S. Economy

Over the years, more and more economists have come to the conclusion that immigrant workers “complement” the native-born majority of the labor force by bringing different sets of skills and different demographic profiles with them, both of which enhance and expand the economy as a whole.

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  • Research and Analysis

The Growth and Reach of Immigration: New Census Bureau Data Underscore Importance of Immigrants

August 1, 2006
New data from the 2005 American Community Survey (ACS), released by the Census Bureau on August 15, 2006, underscore the extent to which immigration continues to fuel the expansion of the U.S. labor...
  • Research and Analysis

Building a Competitive Workforce: Immigration and the U.S. Manufacturing Sector

August 1, 2006
Shortages of skilled labor constitute the foremost challenge confronting U.S. manufacturers who face growing competition from manufacturers in Asia, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere. Demand for...
  • Research and Analysis

Immigrants, Skills, and Wages: Measuring the Economic Gains from Immigration

March 1, 2006
Foreign-born workers do not substitute perfectly for, and therefore do not compete with, most native-born workers. Rather, the complementary nature of the skills, occupations, and abilities of...
  • Fact Sheet

The Economics of Necessity: Economic Report of the President Underscores Importance of Immigration

May 1, 2005
Although immigration is crucial to the growth of the U.S. labor force and yields a net fiscal benefit to the U.S. economy, current immigration policies fail to respond to actual labor demand.
  • Research and Analysis

Essential Workers: Immigrants are a Needed Supplement to the Native-Born Labor Force

March 1, 2005
An analysis of data from the 2000 census reveals that employment in about one-third of all U.S. job categories would have contracted during the 1990s in the absence of recently arrived, noncitizen...
  • Research and Analysis

Maintaining A Competitive Edge: Foreign-Born and US Immigration Policies in Science and Engineering

August 1, 2004
Foreign-born scientists and engineers (S&Es) have long played a prominent role in U.S. technological and scientific advancement and are a critical part of the science and engineering (S&E)...
  • Research and Analysis

Relinquishing Excellence: Closing the Door to Foreign Professionals Undermines the U.S. Economy

May 1, 2004
According to a recent National Science Board report, restrictive U.S. visa policies are beginning to close the door to highly skilled foreign professionals who have long helped maintain U.S...
  • Special Report

Health Worker Shortages & the Potential of Immigration Policy

February 1, 2004
Foreign-born and foreign-trained professionals play an important role in the delivery of health care in the United States. This report examines the important role of immigrant doctors and nurses –...
  • Research and Analysis

Foreign Students on Campus: An Asset to Our Nation

February 1, 2003
Americans are rightfully proud of our nation's higher education system. Scholars come to the U.S. from all over the world and we have historically educated many of the world's leaders. But the...
  • Fact Sheet

Mexican Immigrant Workers and the U.S. Economy: An Increasingly Vital Role

September 1, 2002
America's current immigration policies are antiquated and fail to recognize the importance of Mexican workers to the national economy. U.S. immigration law must provide ways for Mexican workers to...
  • Blog

Immigration a Boon to U.S. Economy Finds National Panel of Experts

September 22, 2016

Immigrants and their descendants make valuable contributions to the U.S. economy, according to a new report just released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine entitled...

  • Blog

Why Restricting Immigration Won’t Improve Work Opportunities for Natives

September 6, 2016

Serious economists know that immigrant and native-born workers cannot simply be swapped for one another like batteries. On average, immigrants and the native-born differ in terms of formal...

  • Blog

Why Restricting Immigration Won’t Improve Work Opportunities for Natives

September 6, 2016

Serious economists know that immigrant and native-born workers cannot simply be swapped for one another like batteries. On average, immigrants and the native-born differ in terms of formal...

  • Blog

Immigrant Workers Enhance and Expand the U.S. Economy

June 29, 2016

Over the years, more and more economists have come to the conclusion that immigrant workers “complement” the native-born majority of the labor force by bringing different sets of skills and...

  • Blog

States Will Need Immigrants to Counter Aging of the Labor Force

June 1, 2016

New population projections from the University of Virginia’s Demographics Research Group show that in many states in the Northeast and Midwest, growth of the working-age population is slowing due...

  • Blog

Class Action Settlement Removes Obstacles Preventing Asylum Applicants from Working

December 19, 2013

A recent settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of thousands of asylum seekers is removing obstacles they faced in obtaining work documents while they pursue their asylum...

  • Fact Sheet

The Economic Blame Game: Immigration and Unemployment

June 12, 2013
One of the most persistent myths about the economics of immigration is that every immigrant added to the U.S. labor force amounts to a job lost by a native-born worker, or that every job loss for a...
  • Special Report

Allies, Not Enemies: How Latino Immigration Boosts African American Employment and Wages

June 12, 2013
Latino immigrants and African Americans fill complementary roles in the labor market—they are not simply substitutes for one another.
  • Fact Sheet

Government Agencies and E-Verify: Erroneous Results and Misuse Cost Workers Their Jobs

March 2, 2012
Making E-Verify mandatory—even for government agencies and contractors—could threaten the jobs of U.S. citizens because there are errors in the system and because employers misuse it. E-Verify is...
  • Fact Sheet

Value Added: Immigrants Create Jobs and Businesses, Boost Wages of Native-Born Workers

January 1, 2012
Immigrants are not the cause of unemployment in the United States. Empirical research has demonstrated repeatedly that there is no correlation between immigration and unemployment. In fact,...

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