Illegal Immigrants and the U.S. Economy

Dennis Prager has written an insightful article explaining why, contrary to popular perception, illegal immigrants have not actually taken jobs away from most Americans. America's economy, Prager demonstrates, has been so strong that regardless of immigration numbers, virtually anyone searching for a job will eventually find one. This essay is not a blanket support of illegal immigration (Prager worries about properly assimilating them and recommends building a fence between the U.S. and Mexico), but it raises some excellent points that should allay certain economic fears.

On a similar note, I'd like to refute another common misperception - the belief that illegals are necessary to perform certain jobs that Americans refuse to do. Quite simply, it's not true. Illegals indeed comprise a large percentage of workers in relatively menial fields such as housecleaning, construction, farmwork, and (NY mayor Michael Bloomberg's favorite) golf course maintenance. But they occupy these jobs not because Americans flat-out refuse such positons, but because Americans refuse such positions at current wage rates.

This is a highly important distinction. The problem with housekeeping is not that we Americans consider the work beneath us; it's that the work generally pays less than $10/hour. If cleaning homes paid, say, $50/hour, we'd be lining up to do it by the thousands.

For many illegals, however, $10/hour is a large sum compared to salaries back home. These people hence certainly don't mind (and are often quite thrilled at the prospect of) working such jobs. The presence of so many illegals in these low-wage positions is not evidence that Americans have lost their work ethic, but rather a function of basic economics.

So what would happen if the illegals weren't here? Americans would, of course, perform these jobs, but the wage rate would rise to meet their higher salary demands. This in turn would drive employers to compensate at first through cost-cutting measures (primarily layoffs and outsourcing), but later through innovation and increased productivity. Reducing illegal immigration, then, will likely hurt our economy in the short run, but greatly help it long term.