Illegal Immigration in the Labor Market

Allison Torres
Department of Labor

US

About 8 million out of an overall

population of 11.2 million illegal aliens,
71.4 percent, are involved in the
workforce in the United States. Many
United States citizens are aware of the
increase in illegal immigrants in the
workforce, but do they know what the
increase is doing to the United States job
market?

U.S. Jobs Taken by Illegal

Immigrants
Georgia
Idaho
New York
Delaware

This article is aims to inform the US

Department of Labor employees of the
economic and social dangers that illegal
immigration creates, such as undermining
the legal system, weakening national
identity, and adversely impacting the job
market and the provision of social
services. By providing (a) important facts
and statistics about the affects of
immigration specifically on the labor
market and (b) ways to solve the issues
that are arising, the US Department of
Labor can help control the economic
outcome in the United States.

California
0

500

1000

1500

2000

Jobs Taken (thousands)

Figure 1.
Job Competition. So, whom does
immigration hurt? If we look at the big
picture, the problem is that not everyone
is going to be satisfied. Economists are
concerned about the effect of immigration
on low-income, native-born workers.
Keep in mind; the literature is divided on
whether an increase in low-skilled
immigrant labor hurts low-skilled native
workers in the long run or not. It is true
that in individual cases, there will be
workers that get put out of jobs because
of the competition that immigrants bring.
(Stoddard)

AFFECTS OF IMMIGRATION
ON THE LABOR MARKET
First, there are many jobs that are being
taken from native-born citizens and given
to illegal immigrants, which is becoming
an issue for many U.S. citizens. Below,
Figure 1 demonstrates the number of jobs
encumbered by illegal alien workers
within a few states.

U.S. Unemployment. In the span of two

years, 2008-2010, over a million
immigrants landed U.S. jobs. Over these
past two years, the U.S. unemployment
rate was in the double-digit levels and,
over a million foreign-born immigrants
came to America and found work, many
illegally. Even though most young,
unskilled immigrants come into the U.S.
and take the jobs that most Americans
turn away from, because of the little
salary, doesnt mean that it is acceptable
for illegal immigrants to take those jobs
away for native-born citizens that are
willing to work those jobs. (Stoddard)

Now employers are starting to hire new

immigrants over native-born workers and
have continued to displace large numbers
of blue-collar workers and young adults
without college
"There is basically no
degrees.
unskilled immigration
Employers have
that is legal. There are
not had to pay
basically no provisions
health benefits
in the law for unskilled
or basic payroll
immigrants."
taxes because
-Bill Hammond,
of the benefit of
president of the Texas
hiring an
Association of Business.
undocumented
immigrant. This is encouraging the desire
to hire more and more illegal immigrants,
which expands the issue that President
Barack Obama is trying to tighten up:
Illegal immigration. (Matthews)

Increasing Nonfederal Enforcement.

Although state and local police have
undisputed legal authority to enforce the
immigration code's criminal provisions,
most do not assist in immigration
enforcement since they perceive little
federal support for their efforts. The
Interior and Customs Enforcement agency
(ICE) has historically refused to take
custody of those immigrants who have
been contracted by state and local police,
which should not be acceptable. To
complicate matters more, the federal
courts and executive branch have sent
confusing signals concerning the
enforcement of immigration laws.
So, increasing nonfederal enforcement to
help assist our federal government, will,
in essence, contribute to decreasing the
illegal immigration in our country.

WAYS TO IMPROVE ILLEGAL

IMMIGRATION

By making Americans aware of the illegal

immigration issue in the labor market,
creating stringent immigration policies,
and increasing nonfederal enforcement,
individuals have many ways to improve
the social and economical well being of
the United States.

Understanding the Problem of

Immigration. A key step in improving
illegal immigration in the United States, is
understanding the problem that we are
facing. Many people are not aware of
how impacting the problem is on our
economy. Approximately 12 million illegal
immigrants currently reside in the United
States. A legal system can only be
carried through when it is constantly
being enforced, so by making people
aware of the situation, it creates more of
a success with decreasing illegal
immigration. (Ryan)

CONCLUSION
Although many people may see
immigration as a positive aspect to our
economy, immigrants cause many issues,
including the competition of U.S. jobs. The
U.S. Department of Labor employees
need to be aware of the issue of illegal
immigration and encourage the
enforcement of protecting our country
from the consequences of what it brings.

Stringent Immigration Policies. One

way to reduce this flood of illegal
immigrants that are taking U.S. jobs is to
enforce more stringent immigration
policies, as well as state and local officials
to enforce the federal immigration laws.
This is a very obvious solution to the
problem, but is also a very practical
solution.

Works Cited
Boatright, L. R. (2006). "Clear eye for the
state guy": Clarifying authority and
trusting federalism to increase

Illegal Immigration in the Labor Market

Allison Torres
Department of Labor

US

nonfederal assistance with

immigration enforcement*. Texas
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Booth, D. (2006). FEDERALISM ON ICE:
STATE AND LOCAL ENFORCEMENT
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Stoddard, E. (2011, January 11).
Exclusive: Over a million
immigrants land U.S. jobs in 200810| Reuters. Retrieved from
http://www.reuters.com/article/201
1/01/20/us-usa-immigrants-

employmentexclusiveidUSTRE70J37P20110120
Matthews, C. (2013, January 30). The
Economics of Immigration: Who
Wins, Who Loses and Why |
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http://business.time.com/2013/01/3
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Ryan, P. (2006, December 31). Paul Ryan
on Immigration. Retrieved from
http://www.ontheissues.org/house/P
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