Employment and Wages

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

Recent Features

  • Blog

Immigrant Workers Enhance and Expand the U.S. Economy

Over the years, more and more economists have come to the conclusion that immigrant workers “complement” the native-born majority of the labor force by bringing different sets of skills and different demographic profiles with them, both of which enhance and expand the economy as a whole.

All Employment and Wages Content

  • Fact Sheet

Government Agencies and E-Verify: Erroneous Results and Misuse Cost Workers Their Jobs

Publication Date: 
March 2, 2012
Making E-Verify mandatory—even for government agencies and contractors—could threaten the jobs of U.S. citizens because there are errors in the system and because employers misuse it. E-Verify is...
  • Fact Sheet

Value Added: Immigrants Create Jobs and Businesses, Boost Wages of Native-Born Workers

Publication Date: 
January 1, 2012
Immigrants are not the cause of unemployment in the United States. Empirical research has demonstrated repeatedly that there is no correlation between immigration and unemployment. In fact,...
  • Fact Sheet

Rebooting the American Dream: The Role of Immigration in a 21st Century Economy

Publication Date: 
November 8, 2011
There is plenty of evidence that immigration helps to fuel the U.S. economy, just as it has...
  • Fact Sheet

Fiscally Irresponsible: Immigration Enforcement without Reform Wastes Taxpayer Dollars

Publication Date: 
October 19, 2011
Many political pundits, GOP presidential aspirants, and Members of Congress want to have it both ways when it comes to federal spending on immigration. On the one hand, there is much talk about the...
  • Fact Sheet

The Racial Blame Game

Publication Date: 
March 1, 2011
Immigrants Are Not the Cause of High Unemployment and Low Wages Among Minority Workers Some observers have suggested that immigrants are to blame for the high unemployment rates and low wages...
  • Fact Sheet

Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Force

Publication Date: 
August 4, 2010
New CBO Report Underscores Diverse Contributions of Foreign-Born Workers A recent report from the...
  • Fact Sheet

Not In Competition: Immigrants and Native-Born Workers

Publication Date: 
June 10, 2010
High levels of unemployment have led some to propagate the myth that every immigrant added to the U.S. labor force amounts to a job lost by a native-born worker, or that every job loss for a native-...
  • Fact Sheet

How Expanding E-Verify Would Hurt American Workers and Business

Publication Date: 
March 2, 2010
Expanding mandatory E-Verify would threaten the jobs of thousands of U.S. citizens and saddle U.S. businesses with additional costs—all at a time when we need to stimulate our economy. Expanding E-...
  • Research and Analysis

Critical Care: The Role of Immigrant Workers in U.S. Health Care

Publication Date: 
December 11, 2009
As the public debate over health care reform continues to rage, mention is seldom made of the vital role that immigrants play in the health care workforce.
  • Research and Analysis

Immigrant Workers Contribute in Large Metropolitan Areas

Publication Date: 
December 1, 2009
The Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) recently released a report highlighting the contributions of immigrant workers in the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. FPI’s report broadens a growing...
  • Blog

How Immigrants Helped Boost American Jobs in the Midwest

November 7, 2017

At a time when anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies seem to be growing, immigrants in the United States continue to do what they have done for over a century—bring unique and vital experiences to...

  • Blog

Florida and Texas Need Immigrants to Rebuild

September 12, 2017

With Hurricanes Irma and Harvey ravaging much of Florida and Texas, the states will soon begin a substantial, years-long rebuilding process. The aftermath of previous natural disasters has shown...

  • Blog

Seniors’ Access to Health Care May Suffer If DACA Is Terminated

September 8, 2017

Industries across the nation may find themselves in dangerously short supply of workers if no solution is found for the 800,000 young immigrants now at risk of deportation due to the termination...

  • Blog

Farmers Struggle to Find Labor, Threatening Americans’ Food Supply and Prices

August 14, 2017

America’s farmers have been acutely aware of the consequences of restrictive immigration policies for some time. When migration levels drop or restrictive policies drive migrants out of the state...

  • Blog

Refugees Contribute More In Taxes Than They Ever Receive in Benefits

June 16, 2017

Refugee resettlement has long been a cornerstone of United States foreign policy, but in the first weeks of the Trump administration, the president attempted to suspend the decades-long program in...

  • Blog

Immigration a Boon to U.S. Economy Finds National Panel of Experts

September 22, 2016

Immigrants and their descendants make valuable contributions to the U.S. economy, according to a new report just released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine entitled...

  • Blog

Why Restricting Immigration Won’t Improve Work Opportunities for Natives

September 6, 2016

Serious economists know that immigrant and native-born workers cannot simply be swapped for one another like batteries. On average, immigrants and the native-born differ in terms of formal...

  • Blog

Why Restricting Immigration Won’t Improve Work Opportunities for Natives

September 6, 2016

Serious economists know that immigrant and native-born workers cannot simply be swapped for one another like batteries. On average, immigrants and the native-born differ in terms of formal...

  • Blog

Immigrant Workers Enhance and Expand the U.S. Economy

June 29, 2016

Over the years, more and more economists have come to the conclusion that immigrant workers “complement” the native-born majority of the labor force by bringing different sets of skills and...

  • Blog

States Will Need Immigrants to Counter Aging of the Labor Force

June 1, 2016

New population projections from the University of Virginia’s Demographics Research Group show that in many states in the Northeast and Midwest, growth of the working-age population is slowing due...

  • Blog

How Immigration Can Offset the U.S. Labor Shortage and Rising Inflation

August 25, 2022

The U. S. inflation rate reached a 40-year high in June and slightly eased to 8.5% in July, continuing to put pressure on the budgets of American families. Disruptions to the supply chain during...

  • Fact Sheet

Power of the Purse: Contributions of Hispanic Americans in the Rio Grande Valley

Publication Date: 
June 3, 2022
This fact sheet underscores the crucial role Hispanic Texans play in the Rio Grande Valley’s labor force, population growth, and economy.
  • Fact Sheet

Power of the Purse: Contributions of Hispanic Americans in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission Metro Area

Publication Date: 
June 3, 2022
This fact sheet underscores the crucial role Hispanic Texans play in the metro area’s labor force, population growth, and economy.
  • Press Release

New Data Reveals How Immigration Can Help Meet Labor Demands and Move the US Economy Forward

May 4, 2022
New data released today by the American Immigration Council examines how immigration can help meet labor demands and steer the U.S. economy back on track. The report, “Amid Rising Inflation, Immigrant Workers Help Ease Labor Shortages,” analyzes which occupations are expected to increase between 2020 and 2030.
  • Fact Sheet

New Americans in Utah

Publication Date: 
May 3, 2022
This research brief highlights the key role that new Americans are playing in Utah as participants in the state’s workforce, taxpayers, consumers, entrepreneurs, international students, and more.
  • Blog

Federal Court Restores Access to Work Permits for Many Asylum Seekers

February 9, 2022

A federal court issued a decision on February 7 invalidating two Trump-era regulations that restricted access to work permits for asylum seekers. In her decision, Judge Beryl Howell of the...

  • Letters

Coalition Letter Calling for Implementation of the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act provisions

Publication Date: 
December 16, 2021
The American Immigration Council and 13 other organizations urged USCIS to expand premium processing to ensure the agency remains solvent while efficiently and effectively adjudicating all...
  • Blog

What Are the Benefits of the J-1 Visa?

February 25, 2021

Over the past year, sweeping orders have banned many non-immigrant visa holders from entering the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic gave many former Trump administration officials the...

  • Advocacy

Comment on DHS Proposed Rule to Drastically Expand the Definition and Collection of Biometrics

October 13, 2020
The American Immigration Council, the Immigration Defense Clinic at Colorado Law, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, submitted a comment in opposition to the Department of Homeland Security proposed rule on the "Collection and Use of Biometrics by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services."
  • Blog

Changes to Work Permit Eligibility Leave Asylum Seekers Without a Job

January 13, 2020

People who come to the United States in search of protection must be allowed to work during the often-lengthy asylum application process. They need to be able to support themselves and their...

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