To hear many anti-immigration groups tell it, people who move to the United States from abroad these days are a pretty sorry lot. Immigrants, these groups say, come here to suck up free social services, not to better themselves. If they do work, they steal jobs from Americans and increase unemployment. They bring all kinds of diseases with them, and once here they despoil the environment for native-born Americans. To many people, these kinds of statements have the ring of truth.
Immigrants use more government services than they pay for with their taxes.
Because states provide most services used by immigrants, they can be net financial losers, while the federal government is typically a net gainer. Immigrants increase unemployment and reduce wages. In line with a number of other studies, the Cato Institute found that immigrants do not increase joblessness, even among the lowest-paid workers. Other studies have found that immigration either has no effect on wage levels or, at worst, a very slight effect on a very small number of the lowest paid jobs in high-immigrant areas. There is a consensus among business leaders that immigration is vital to maintaining economic growth.