The United States has issued more than 1 Million new green cards every year since 2005 and in 8 of the past 10 years. That many new green cards, combined with non-immigrant work visas, adds 125,000 new workers to the job market every month who compete with unemployed Americans and recent high school and college graduates for jobs.
More Immigrants = More Competition for American-born, Low-skill Workers
Nine percent of working-age adult, native-born Americans were high school dropouts in 2006, while 34% of recent adult immigrants had not completed high school. These low-skilled immigrants take jobs in construction, housekeeping, landscaping, and food service where many low-skilled Americans also look for work. Between 2000 and 2005, the number of unemployed native-born Americans with a high school degree or less increased by more than 2 million people. But over the same time period, the number of low-skilled immigrants with a job increased by 1.5 million.
More Immigrants = Lower Wages for Low-skill Jobs
Over the last 25 years, hourly wages for native-born Americans with less than a high school education declined by more than 20% compared to the rate of inflation. For those with a high school education, hourly wages are down by 10%. Supporters of more immigration argue that the U.S. needs more immigrants to do jobs Americans won't do. But if that were true, simple economic principles of supply and demand say wages should go up as employers try to attract more workers with higher wages.
