I think anecdote in the hands of the economist is a dangerous weapon. so let me just give two kinds of actual points of data. First. in the 1960s we know that roughly half of the U.S. workforce lacked a high school diploma. and now about 12 percent of the nativeborn workforce lacks a high school diploma. This skill set difference is driving the comment that I think is true. which is it is not the case that immigrant labor is displacing by and large U.S. labor or depressing wages. and there are two key points to highlight that. Nevada and Kentucky. arguably similar in cost of living in many ways--7.5 percent of the population of Nevada right now is estimated to be undocumented. The average high school dropout wage is $10 per hour. In Kentucky. less than 1 percent of the population is estimated to be undocumented. and yet the high school dropout wage is $8.73 per hour. It cant be simplified into simply saying immigrant labor shows up and it hurts U.S.born labor. It is much more complex than that. I think. net. it clearly benefits U.S. labor...
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undocumented immigrant