Employment and Wages

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

  • Special Report

The Immigrant Success Story

Publication Date: 
June 11, 2018
Some confusion exists regarding the economic aspects of family-based immigration. To help unpack those aspects, this report focuses on one of them—namely, the earnings of family-based immigrants.
  • Fact Sheet

The Economic Blame Game: Immigration and Unemployment

Publication Date: 
June 12, 2013
One of the most persistent myths about the economics of immigration is 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...
  • Special Report

Allies, Not Enemies: How Latino Immigration Boosts African American Employment and Wages

Publication Date: 
June 12, 2013
Latino immigrants and African Americans fill complementary roles in the labor market—they are not simply substitutes for one another.
  • 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-...
  • Blog

Record Low U.S. Birth Rate and Retirements Will Result in Contracting U.S. Prosperity, If Unaddressed

April 26, 2019

The U.S. population is aging quickly. Baby boomers are retiring en masse and Americans are having far fewer children, on average, than any other time in our history. The median age in this country...

  • Blog

Taking H-4 Spouses out of the US Workforce Would Hurt Women the Most

March 19, 2019

The Trump administration is set to issue a proposed rule that would prevent the spouses of certain high-skilled temporary foreign workers from getting jobs while they are in the United States. The...

  • Blog

Immigrants and Native-Born Americans Get the Job Done – Together

August 29, 2018

The power of the U.S. workforce is that both native- and foreign-born workers complement one another with different and equally needed skill sets. They cannot simply be substituted for one another...

  • Blog

Re-Definition of ‘Public Charge’ Could Drastically Slash Family Immigration

June 28, 2018

The Trump administration is quietly attempting to revamp the U.S. immigration system by circumventing Congress and changing the nation’s immigration policies through new federal regulations. The...

  • Blog

How Family-Based Immigrants Succeed in the US Economy

June 12, 2018

Migration based on family ties has long been the foundation of the U.S. immigration system. Yet lawmakers are proposing drastic cuts to family-based immigration in favor of immigrants who come to...

  • Blog

Immigrants Create Jobs for American Workers, Boosting the U.S. Employment Rate

May 22, 2018

When immigrants bring their skills to the U.S. labor market, everyone—immigrants and native-born workers alike—benefit from their company. Research has repeatedly shown that native-born workers...

  • Blog

Delays in the Increase of Seasonal Worker Visas May Prove Too Late for Certain Industries

May 7, 2018

Failure to get H-2B (seasonal worker) visas approved has put Maryland’s seafood industry in jeopardy. Almost half of the Eastern Shore’s crab houses do not have workers they need to pick the meat...

  • Blog

Allowing Spouses of H1-B’s to Work Makes America More Competitive

March 27, 2018

As part of the April 2017 “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, the Trump administration announced that it intends to revoke the employment eligibility of the spouses of foreign...

  • Blog

Immigrants Fuel Job Gains, Not Losses in the United States

March 6, 2018

Immigrants are often used as convenient scapegoats for those feeling the economic pinch of joblessness. However, for at least the last 15 years, immigrants have not been a source of significant...

  • Blog

The Dream Act Could Add Millions to Your Congressional District

December 12, 2017

Current and former recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative are asking Congress to recognize the impact they and other Dreamers have on the United States, and to...

  • 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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