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When discussing immigrants and jobs, it is important to note the difference between legal immigrants to the United States, and illegal resident aliens in the United States. This is important as the economic regions and labor markets are affected quite differently by legal immigrants vs. illegal immigrants.

About three years ago, after I had been laid off, my wife (a legal immigrant who didn't speak English at the time) decided she wanted to go to work, so I took her to a small town about 20 miles away, where the grapevine said they were looking for workers.

My wife and a friend of hers, went inside to fill out an application while I stayed in the car browsing through the want ads. After about an hour, both ladies came back to the car with big grins on their face, with the news that they would be starting the following Thursday.

A few weeks later, when my job search had come up empty, I decided that I would apply at the same company as my wife, and work opposite shifts. So I drove my wife to work, then went inside to apply. The person who took applications basically did everything he could to convince me to NOT fill out an application as it was a waste of both my time and his.... until.... he learned that I spoke fluent Spanish.

Do illegal immigrants take jobs Americans don't want? Only when you qualify it by saying that Illegal immigrants take the jobs that Americans don't want AT THE PAY that the employers are wanting to pay.

Some key statistics to note:

1. Between 2000-2005, the net job growth inside the United States was nearly zero. This occurred due to the minor recession that we felt as well as the incidents of 9/11 and the terrible jolt that our economy felt.

2. However, based upon a report (http://www.cis.org/articles/2 004/back1104.html) from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS): from March 2000 to March 2005, 2.3 million immigrants (legal and illegal) joined the ranks of employed workers. During this same time, 2.3 million US Citizens LOST their jobs, and joined the ranks of the unemployed.

3. In the year prior to the report, nearly 1.2 million US Citizens reported that they were so disheartened in their search for a job, that they had given up even the hunt for new work.

I believe that unauthorized resident aliens take jobs that Americans want, but not for the salary offered, and I believe that the presence of illegal aliens lowers the prevailing wages throughout the entire area where they are working.

Learn more about this author, Alan Fernald.
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