Cracking Down on Immigration Doesn’t Boost Wages
- The undocumented population plummeted 40 percent in 5 years
- No evidence ‘likelihood of employment’ for legal workers rose
A sign warns visitors of smuggling and illegal immigration on the Arizona border.
Photographer: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty ImageWhatever happens on Nov. 8, the immigration debate will continue to rage, and Arizona will still be the case study for mass deportations. No state rounded up and kicked out more illegal residents. Not that it did a heck of a lot for the economy.
Wages for the most part didn’t rise more for low-skilled positions than for those overall when undocumented workers -- who in theory pull the base down by accepting lesser pay -- were expelled. Jobs in construction and agriculture weren’t always easy to fill, especially in months when temperatures top 100 degrees. The exit of hundreds of thousands of consumers may have been a drag on growth. Small businesses struggled with the loss of employees.