Issues with Illegal Immigration

I have been writing a paper on immigration for my legislation course. It got me thinking about a couple political problems that arise due to massive illegal immigration.

Illegal immigration lowers the wages of blue-collar and low income workers. It doesn't take an economist to realize that vastly increasing the number of low income workers depresses wages. There is simply more competition for the jobs of poor and lower-middle class Americans over the past 30 years of high rates of illegal immigration. The problem is not that there is work that "Americans won't do", but that there is work that Americans won't do for minimum wage because it is tough work. Before the recent influx of immigrants, the trash was still collected and the fruit was still picked. Liberals complain about the stagnation of the income of the poor, but support importing the rest of the world's poor. Why would they do such a thing?

Illegal immigration bring more votes for the Democratic party. A study I read during my research said that, at current rates of immigration, John Kerry would have won in 2020 based only on growth in the hispanic population. Bush actually did quite well with Hispanics in 2004, winning 40% of the vote. If Republicans fall back to 30% of the Hispanic vote the picture would be even worse. Liberals are going to try their best to convince low income immigrants that they need government social programs and that they can't make it on their own.