An increase in the number of inspectors who monitor employers and ensure compliance with the law is also likely to reduce the incentive to hire illegal aliens. Some have also suggested more vigorous enforcement of existing labor laws as a possible solution to the negative effects of immigration. It is this increase that is causing the troubling decline in wages for workers at the bottom of the labor market. There can be no doubt that immigration policy is of central importance to any country. Large numbers of immigrants cannot help but have a significant impact on the receiving society.
Immigration is also a discretionary policy of the federal government.
The number of immigrants allowed in each year, as well as the selection criteria used for admission, can be altered by the public and policy makers. At present, our immigration policy reflects the preferences of a number of different interest groups unfortunately, the interests of the working poor are not among them. This study delineates the consequences of not taking into consideration the effect of mass immigration on the most vulnerable American workers. If we are concerned about the working poor in this country, then the federal government needs to either reduce the flow of low-skilled immigrants coming in each year or implement new programs designed to ameliorate their harmful effects. To do nothing is neither wise nor fair.