S u m m a r y N early 12 million unauthorized immigrants live in the United States. California is home to about 2.7 million of these immigrants, who make up almost 10 percent of the state's labor force. 1 Currently, legislators in Washington, D.C., are considering a comprehensive reform of federal immigration policies that could include the legalization of unauthorized immigrants. Many observer...

This paper provides a quantitative assessment of the economic contribution of unauthorized workers to the U.S. economy, and the potential gains from legalization. We employ a theoretical framework that allows for multiple industries and a heterogeneous workforce. Capital and labor are the inputs in production and the different types of labor are combined in a multi-nest CES framework that build...

Abstract Do negative economic shocks heighten public opposition to immigration, and through what mechanisms? Extant research suggests that circumstances levels of labour market competition have little bearing on citizens' immigration attitudes. Yet personal the potential trigger threatened, anti-immigration responses – possibly channels other than prior cross-sectional has been unable detect. T...