Will Illegal Immigration Undo the Minimum Wage Hike?
"As the House votes Wednesday to raise the federal minimum wage by $2.10
per hour, economists are considering the effect of that increase on low-income workers. Will the benefits to such workers of raising the minimum wage be offset by wage-depressing effects of illegal immigration? And if so, will Congress fall short of its goal of helping low-income workers until it takes steps to stop the flow of illegal immigrants?" writes Tom Curry f or MSNBC. "In its assessment last May of the Senate immigration bill, which would have created a new guest worker program and allowed thousands of illegal immigrants living in the United States to become legal residents, the Congressional Budget Office said it was likely that the addition of additional immigrants 'would slow the growth of the wages of workers already present in the United States with whom they most closely compete.'"
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