The economics of illegal immigration

There's a roundup of some studies here. There have been other studies that showed somewhat different results than the ones discussed, but not being an economist I have no way of definitively saying which side is accurate. However, basing an opposition to illegal immigration on the economic factors alone is not necessary because the other factors involved - such as corruption and U.S. sovereignty - are much more important.

A recent study by Harvard economist George J. Borjas, probably the nation's leading authority on the economics of immigration, concluded that from 1980 to 2000 immigration reduced the average annual earnings of native-born men by $1,700, or nearly 4 percent. For the poorest tenth of the work force the reduction was much larger, 7.4 percent, traceable to Mexican immigration. Native-born African-Americans and Hispanics were also hard-hit, being in direct competition with immigrant workers. Mr. Borjas found even college graduates had their earnings lowered by an estimated 3.6 percent...

...President Bush favors a guest worker program that would legalize and hence encourage the continued flow of low-wage immigration. Yet his own Council of Economic Advisers, in its 2005 annual report, conceded immigration negatively affects the wages of those already here, particularly less skilled workers. The depressing effect that the illegal labor supply has on the wages of legal workers won't be mitigated by turning illegals into legal residents...

Immigration · Tue, 03/14/2006 - 01:11 · · Importance: 1

Comments

Not all immigrant's are illegal and not all of them entered here illegally, like my husband. He is not a criminal, we are just trying to survive as a family with 2 young boys under 4.

Posted by: Jamie at Apr 5, 2006 12:00 PM

The economic figures cited in your link are way low. They are low because they are based on a low estimate of the number of illegal immigrants working in the US. Most figures cited are for "illegal alien residents" or "illegal aliens living here" and miss the millions who move around the country and go back and forth from the US to Mexico. Double their figures for this factor.

Their numbers are also low because they do not include the real costs of free health care and free schooling and free English as a second Language, etc. Double their figures for underestimating the illegals and then at least double them for not including real costs.

Next add about $50 billion that the illegal aliens send back to Mexico that leaves the economy, multiply that $50 billion by about 3 (the common multiplier used in economic analyses), and add $150 billion a year to their totals.

Add in crime from the victim through the courts to prison and note the fact that illegal aliens are the single biggest group in our federal prison system and crime costs the US untold billions of dollars a year too. Do all this and you will find the number is in the range of $150-$200 billion a year. Please see http://linknzona.blogspot.com for a more complete economic analysis.

Note: This does not include salary and other costs for the Border Patrol, DEA, and other law enforcement. How many billions a year to these add up to? We don't know because we don't know what they would be without illegal aliens.

Thanks for the economics links but please consider the need for more complete & comprehensive analyses.

Posted by: LomaAlta at Mar 14, 2006 2:37 PM

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