Does the presence of illegal immigrants drive down wages for American workers?
Yes, a little. Several recent studies have demonstrated that one segment of workers in particular the lowest-paid, lowest-skilled Americans find their wages depressed across the board by illegal immigrants. (The decrease is 5 percent in one study, 7.2 percent in the other.) African and Hispanic American workers are hit especially hard, due to their disproportionately large representation in this economic demographic. Yet the situation becomes less cut-and-dry when we stop to consider that illegal immigrant workers drive down the cost of almost all goods and services for all consumers. Thus, by working for such low wages, illegal workers actually increase the spending power of Americans. So while Americans paychecks might be a bit lighter because illegal immigrants are willing to work for so little, their dollars are also stretching further. 4. What about federal benefits and aid programs? Do illegal immigrants take more than they give? Probably not at least if you look at the big pictu
