Steven Pham's Legal Blog

For years, the right-winged conservatives have been screaming for the government to step-up enforcement of illegal immigration.  They attribute illegal immigration to the lack of jobs, claiming that jobs were taken by illegal immigrants who are willing to work for less by getting pay under the table.  To be fair, it is reasonable to assume that many undocumented aliens do accept jobs that pay less than the employer would have to pay for a U.S. residence or citizen.  However, whether that is a widely used phenomenon is yet to be determined.

What is clear, however, is that the number of illegal immigrants declined over the past few years.  The conclusion was based on a recent study, which was referred to in a recent Associated Press’s article.  While recent crack downs by ICE and removals may have caused fear in some illegal immigrants, the article attributed the decline due to the lack of low-skilled jobs, such as in the construction industry.  As the bearish economy slows down and enters into a recession, construction projects, especially in the residential construction industry, comes to almost a complete halt.  These low-skilled, low-paid jobs are often not desirable to many U.S. residence and citizens. 

The fact is whether the illegal immigrants take up “American jobs” are yet to be proven. One thing is clear.  As the illegal immigrant number increases, so is the U.S. economy.  Contrary, as the number of jobs decrease, and the economy slows down, so is the number of illegal immigrants.  Perhaps we all should stop worrying about who takes up “our jobs,” and concentrate on developing our own skills to be competitive.  Perhaps we should take into consolation that, when there is an increase in the number of illegal immigrants, it is an indication that our economy is vibrant and there are more jobs out there for everyone.