Immigration and Wages

You wouldn’t know it from reading the press but most economists who have studied the effect of immigration on the wages of U.S. born workers have found a small but positive relationship.  In other words, as the chart below shows, immigration tends to boost the wages of U.S. born workers (and at all levels of education).  At the same time, immigration does tend to lower the wages of foreign born workers in the U.S.

For a more detailed look at the study that produced these results see the paper “Immigration and wages—Methodological advancements confirm modest gains for native workers” by Heidi Shierholz.