Debate Desk
Does the American Economy Depend on Illegal Immigration for Labor?
Illegal labor holds down wages and rewards lawbreaking employers; a legal system with enough visas serves farms and families better.
The claim
Farmers, builders and restaurateurs say they could not harvest crops, frame houses or staff kitchens without workers who are in the country illegally. Removing them, the argument goes, would raise prices, leave fields unpicked and hurt the very communities that want tougher enforcement.
The answer in three points
- "Jobs Americans won't do" is a claim about wages and conditions, not about Americans. At a higher wage, many Americans and legal residents take those jobs, which is why the same jobs are filled by citizens in places with tight labor markets.
- Illegal employment does hold wages down, especially for the least-skilled American workers and for earlier immigrants. Employers who follow the law are undercut by those who hire off the books. A fair market has one set of rules for all.
- The better answer to real labor shortages is a legal pathway sized to need, such as an improved seasonal visa, together with verification that employers use it. Farms get a stable workforce and workers get legal protections, and the border stays an orderly place.
Economists are right that immigrants add to the economy. The error is to jump from there to the claim that the illegal part is needed. A lawful system can supply the labor the economy wants, and it can do it with fair wages, working papers and a border that functions.
The numbers
- The Department of Labor's H-2A program admits foreign agricultural workers on temporary visas, and its certified positions rose substantially over the past decade, according to the Department of Labor.
- The Pew Research Center estimated about 11 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States in 2022.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that agricultural wages in many occupations rose faster than inflation in some recent years, showing how tight labor draws pay up.
What they will say next
"Prices would soar." Some would rise, and for labor-intensive produce the effect would be real. Mechanization, which arrived in tomato harvesting after the bracero program ended, is also a response, and a wage that rises a little for workers matters more than a grocery price that rises a little for shoppers.
"Employers cannot find legal workers." In some sectors, they cannot, and that is a case for expanding legal channels. It is not a reason to look away from violations.
"The E-Verify system is unreliable." It is imperfect, and it has improved. Conservatives disagree about mandating it, and the argument is worth reading on both sides.
"Enforcement would hurt rural towns." A transition has costs, and a phased approach with legal options can reduce them. Waiting for a crisis makes the adjustment worse.
"Deportations would cause labor shortages." In some sectors they could, and a legal guest-worker program would fill that need. Planning for the transition is part of a serious policy.