Effects On Displacing Low-Skilled American Labor
The issue of illegal immigration has a significant impact on society. Illegal immigrants regularly find work in low-skilled jobs in the garment industry, restaurant industry, landscaping industry and others. The costs are extremely high to legal U.S. low-skilled workers who often lose jobs to illegal immigrants who are much more willing to work in menial jobs for less pay. Further, employers benefit from these workers because they are typically paid under the table, which reduces pay-roll taxes, provide a cheaper source of labor, and have no legal recourse regarding working conditions. There are also a host of legal and insurance considerations involved in this issue, like fines for employers who hire illegal immigrants and the arrest of illegal immigrants caught unlawfully working in the U.S. Poor legislation and the very nature of U.S. business is often blamed for the high number of undocumented immigrants finding work in the U.S. Generally, then, the problem stated, is, what are the causes of illegal immigrants coming to America for employment and to what extent do they permit the displacement of low-skilled American workers?
The literature reveals that there are enormous consequences for low-skilled legal workers as a result of illegal immigrants working unlawfully in the U.S. One aspect that causes employers to hire illegal immigrants, many even after they have been fined for past offensives, is the competition from foreign competitors who have a much cheaper labor source. According to one study, in New York, “Some of the 86 factory operators who unlucky enough to have been raided in a city with more than 6,000 garment factories do in fact just hire more illegal workers. This enables businesses to compete with foreign companies that often pay less than 50 cents an hour.” There have been many attempts to enact legislation to help control this problem, but many of...