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Ronald J. Hansen
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 9, 2008 05:36 PM
Illegal immigrants cost Arizonans at least $1.4 billion in lower wages in 2005, a prominent Harvard labor economist estimates in a report released this week.
It offered not-so-subtle criticism of a University of Arizona report last summer that found illegal workers overall made a slight positive economic contribution to the state.
The Borjas report was prepared for Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas as part of a lawsuit challenging the state's employer-sanctions law, which threatens to pull business licenses from companies that knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
Dr. Borjas is one of the nation's leading authorities on the effects of illegal immigration on the American economy," Thomas said on Monday. "His analysis demonstrates that enforcement of the employer-sanctions law will help to protect and potentially increase wages in Arizona, especially among lower-wage workers."
For dropouts, wages for legal workers were 4.7 percent lower than they would be without illegal immigrants, Borjas found. Dropouts earned $20,300 in 2005, about $950 less than they otherwise would have been, he calculated.
By comparison, college-educated workers lost 0.9 percent, dropping their average income $590, to $65,100, Borjas found.
Report: Illegal immigrants cost state $1.4B in wages (broken link)
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