Are illegal immgrants taking people jobs in america
Executive summary
Illegal (undocumented) immigrants influence the U.S. labor market, but the effect is complex: they increase labor supply and exert downward pressure on wages in some low-skill occupations while also filling critical roles, creating demand, and supporting job growth in other sectors [1] [2] [3]. Whether they are “taking jobs” depends on occupation, local market conditions, and time horizon — evidence shows both substitution/competition in specific low-skill niches and broader job-creating effects economy-wide [4] [2] [5].
1. How economists frame the question: not a zero-sum game
Most recent research rejects the simple zero-sum idea that one immigrant equals one displaced native; immigration can create jobs by lowering costs and expanding demand even as it raises competition in particular occupations where immigrants and natives are substitutes [2] [3]. Brookings and other economists emphasize that immigration affects employment, wages, and GDP through multiple channels — labor supply, consumer demand, occupational sorting — so aggregate employment can rise even if some native workers face tougher competition [5] [6].
2. Where competition is most visible: low-skilled and local labor markets
The clearest evidence that undocumented workers “take” jobs comes from concentrated local markets and specific industries — meatpacking, crop work, construction, hospitality, and certain service jobs — where undocumented workers are heavily represented and accept lower wages, increasing competition for low-education native workers [4] [7] [8]. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that a recent immigration surge slightly slows wage growth for people with 12 or fewer years of education through 2026, which is consistent with displacement or wage pressure concentrated among lower-skilled workers [9].
3. Where immigrants fill gaps and support jobs for natives
At the same time, undocumented workers disproportionately occupy jobs that U.S.-born workers are less likely to take — for example, substantial shares of farm labor, food processing, construction, caregiving, and hospitality — and removing them can disrupt production, reduce services, and worsen labor-market outcomes for natives, according to Brookings, Econofact, and CMS analyses [3] [7] [10]. Studies of deportations and enforcement find that mass removals can hurt local labor markets and shrink the supply of childcare and other essential services that enable broader labor-force participation [3].
4. Net effects depend on scale, policy, and region
Macro estimates diverge because impacts vary by scale and geography: the CBO and Brookings show that large shifts in net migration change employment growth, GDP, and wage trajectories and that tighter enforcement or sudden declines in unauthorized immigration can reduce potential employment growth and raise costs in affected industries [6] [9]. The Dallas Fed notes recent reversals in unauthorized flows have important local labor-market implications, underscoring that national averages mask big local variation [11].
5. Policy levers and hidden agendas that shape the debate
Policy choices matter: legal pathways, visa rules, enforcement priorities, and proposals for legalization change whether immigrants are substitutes or complements in the labor market, and industry and advocacy groups promote narratives that serve their interests — employers emphasize labor shortages, enforcement-focused actors stress competition and wage effects [12] [13]. Analysts funded by different institutions may stress removal statistics, fiscal impacts, or sectoral dependence in ways that reflect institutional priorities; researchers caution against using crude removal counts without understanding methodology and scope [6] [8].
6. Bottom line: a qualified answer
Illegal immigrants do displace or increase competition for some native workers — principally lower-educated workers in specific local industries — but they also fill many jobs that would otherwise go unfilled, support broader job creation through demand and lower production costs, and their removal can harm the labor market and certain native workers’ prospects; thus the assertion that undocumented persons are simply “taking people’s jobs” is an oversimplification that depends on occupation, region, and policy context [4] [2] [3].