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Rethinking the Effects of Immigration on Wages: New Data and Analysis from 1990-2004
By Giovanni Peri, Ph.D.A crucial question in the current debate over immigration is what impact immigrants have on the wages of native-born workers. At first glance, it might seem that the simple economics of supply and demand provides the answer: immigrants increase the supply of labor; hence they should decrease the wages of native workers. However, the issue is more complicated than this for two reasons that have been largely overlooked. First, immigrants and natives tend to differ in their educational attainment, skill sets, and occupations, and they perform jobs that often are interdependent. As a result, immigrants do not compete with the majority of natives for the same jobs. Rather, they “complement” the native-born workforce—which increases the productivity, and therefore the wages, of natives. Second, the addition of new workers to the labor force stimulates investment as entrepreneurs seize the opportunity to organize these new workers in productive ways that generate profits. When these two factors are included in the analysis of immigration and wages, it becomes clear that immigration has a positive effect on the wages of most native-born workers.
Read MorePlaying Politics on Immigration: Congress Favors Image over Substance in Passing H.R. 4437
Congressional representatives who supported H.R. 4437—the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005—are most likely to represent districts with relatively few undocumented immigrants.
Read MoreImmigrant Athletes in the Summer 2004 Olympics
Immigrants and the children of immigrants are prominent among the athletes representing the United States in the 2004 Olympics. The stories of these immigrant athletes offer a vivid glimpse of the immigrant experience in the United States.
Read MoreImportant Update Regarding F, M, and J Visa Interview Appointments
On Tuesday, May 27, the international education and exchange community was presented with yet another challenge: Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed U.S. embassies worldwide to pause scheduling new F, M, and J visa interview appointments. While this action immediately affects plans of foreign students and exchange visitors, it does not stop program operations. The […]
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Read MoreWelcoming Interactive 2025: Lessons from Detroit and the Power of Local Leadership
In May, I attended Welcoming America’s Welcoming Interactive conference in Detroit, where over 900 leaders gathered to explore what it takes to build communities where everyone feels they belong. Set in a city shaped by industrial booms, disinvestment, and powerful local activism, the conference was an opportunity to share insights and reflect on how truly […]
Read MoreTrump’s ‘Grant and Deport’ Policy Could Lead to More Cases Like Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Jessica, a client of one of the Immigration Justice Campaign’s volunteer attorneys, was fully prepared to prove to an immigration judge that she’d be persecuted if she returned to Ecuador. After all, she’d fled to the U.S. after testifying in open court against a criminal group — who had murdered both her husband and the […]
Read MoreAsylum Seekers Challenge Trump’s Asylum Shutdown Policy
People fleeing persecution and torture in their home countries have joined immigrant rights organizations to challenge the Trump administration’s unlawful shutdown of asylum along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Read MoreMexican Immigrant in Baltimore County Runs a Business and Teen Training Program
Rocio Herrera grew up in the shadow of an active volcano in a picturesque but impoverished region of central Mexico. She and her husband worked hard—she sold beauty products and cared for elderly people, and her husband was a carpenter—but they struggled to make ends meet. In 2004, they crossed the border wall into the […]
Read MoreArgentinian Immigrant Helps Make Kent County Welcoming for All
When Natalia Kovicak moved from Argentina to Spring Lake, Michigan, at age 25, she quickly realized the challenges of starting a new career as an immigrant. It didn’t matter that she had a resume that included a good job with Coca-Cola in Buenos Aires and her own event-planning company. Kovicak lacked a network. Without strong […]
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