"Higher immigration levels will also increase competition for jobs at a moment when millions of Americans are still struggling. About 8.7 million Americans are currently unemployed -- over 50% more than before the pandemic. The 1 million illegal aliens who've crossed the southern border in the first half of this year are largely coming because they can earn much more here than in their home countries -- even if that means working under the table for minimum or sub-minimum wages. They'll face off against blue-collar American landscapers, drywallers, home health aides, construction workers of all races, creeds, and national origins.
That competition will depress wages. A recent analysis by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that a 1% increase in immigration decreased the wages of low-skill native-born workers by as much as 1.7%.
...This is particularly bad for legal immigrants -- not all of whom are high-fliers at Silicon Valley or Wall Street. Most people in this demographic -- honest men and women who've played by the rules -- compete directly in the workplace with those who enter this country in breach of our laws."
