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“Assessing the Impact of Illegal Immigration: Education Matters”
Summary of Remarks by
Steven A. Camarota
Research Director
Center for Immigration Studies
May 16, 2007
At the joint NEC-SGE luncheon in May, Dr. Camarota discussed his work on the characteristics of illegal immigrants and the implications of these immigrants for U.S. labor markets and the economy. Coinciding with the Senate debate on comprehensive immigration reform, the talk was a timely presentation on one of the most controversial subjects addressed in the legislation.
Dr. Camarota began with a review of historical immigration patterns in the U.S.: the foreign-born population surged in the late 1800s and early 1900s; immigration policies turned restrictive from 1924-1965; policy became less restrictive in 1965 after legislation was passed and the foreign-born population has grown rapidly. The characteristics of the types of immigrants admitted since then have changed. Since 1970, the immigrant population has lost economic ground relative to the native-born population, a trend Dr. Camarota attributes to the lower levels of educational attainment of the recent migrants. He reported that in 1970, the average education level of the foreign-born population actually exceeded that of the native-born population.
The characteristics of the illegal population are even more differentiated from U.S. natives. Roughly three in five illegal immigrants have a less than high school education compared with fewer than ten percent of U.S. citizens. Dr. Camarota argued that this single characteristic is the factor that explains the adverse fiscal impact of the illegal population. He estimated that illegal immigrants constituted a net cost to the federal government of about $10 billion annually and legalizing this population would nearly triple those costs because less-educated legal immigrants have access to and would use more government services. Thus, it is not the legal status of this population that is the cause of the fiscal impact; it is the education background of those immigrants that is the determining factor.
So, are these illegal immigrants helping the U.S. economy by filling gaps in the labor market where the demand for workers exceeds the supply? Dr. Camarota finds little evidence to support the notion that there is a shortage of low-skill workers. He asks, with wages stagnant or declining for workers with less than a high school diploma, fringe benefits for such workers falling, and 23 million lesser educated native-born Americans either unemployed or out of the workforce, how can one argue that there is a shortage? Shouldn’t tight labor markets be expected to boost wages and benefits?
n alternative to legalizing the current unauthorized population is more vigorously enforcing or strengthening existing law and encouraging those workers to leave either voluntarily or by removal. Strong employer sanctions, strict employment verification measures, additional interior enforcement agents, and more detention space would be important components of a strategy to hasten out-migration. Inflows could be reduced by hiring more border patrol agents and installing more fencing and sensors along the border.
Dr. Camarota summarized his presentation by emphasizing that the nation does not benefit from high levels of immigration by less-educated workers, and by arguing it is not good policy to depress the wages of native low-skill workers by admitting large numbers of similar workers. While work in the U.S. clearly benefits the migrants themselves, U.S. policy should be structured to “do what’s in America’s best interests.” However, in response to a question from the audience about the message in his talk that “education matters”, Dr. Camarota observed that a multifaceted approach to the problem, which also features improved educational programs for immigrants, may be desirable and deserves more consideration.
Dr. Steven A. Camarota is director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) in Washington, DC. Dr. Camarota has testified before Congress and his articles on the impact of immigration have appeared in both academic publications and the popular press. His most recent works published by the CIS are "The Slowing Progress of Immigrants: An Examination of Income, Home Ownership, and Citizenship, 1970-2000;" "Without Coverage: Immigration's Impact on the Size and Growth of the Population Lacking Health Insurance;" "Reconsidering Immigrant Entrepreneurship: An Examination of Self-Employment Among Natives and the Foreign-born;" and "Importing Poverty: Immigration's Impact on the Size and Growth of the Poor Population in the United States.” He holds a master's degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in public policy analysis from the University of Virginia.
Rapporteur: Paul Cullinan
