How does illegal immigration hurt the economy?

Some people believe that illegal immigration hurts the U.S. economy because it introduces an unregulated group of workers that are often underpaid, rarely reported for tax purposes and take jobs that would otherwise be taken by citizens or legal immigrants. read more

In states with more undocumented immigrants, Peri said, skilled workers made more money and worked more hours; the economy’s productivity grew. From 1990 to 2007, undocumented workers increased legal workers’ pay in complementary jobs by up to 10 percent. read more

Illegal immigration increases the number of people in an economy who can work, so all else being equal it increases the size of an economy. However, the benefit of illegal immigration is not uniform and it has the potential to hurt some people, which I'll detail below. read more