Illegal immigration's overall impact on the U.S. economy is negligible, despite clear benefits for employers and unauthorized immigrants and slightly depressed wages for low-skilled native workers, according to a report by a University of California, San Diego economist released today by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI).
The report, The Economics and Policy of Illegal Immigration in the United States, authored by UC-San Diego Professor of Economics Gordon Hanson, examines the effect of illegal immigration on the economy. The paper was commissioned to inform the work of MPI's Labor Markets Initiative, which is conducting a comprehensive, policy-focused review of the role of legal and illegal immigration in the labor market.
In the report, Hanson argues that the largest economic gains from illegal immigration flow to unauthorized workers, who see very substantial income gains after migrating. (A young urban male in Mexico who has completed nine years of education can earn 2.5 times as much annually in the United States, even after controlling for cost-of-living differences.)
U.S. employers also gain from lower labor costs and the ability to use their land, capital and technology more productively. Small losses are felt, however, by native-born low-skilled workers who compete with unauthorized immigrants.
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