Are undocumented immigrants driving down the cost of labor?
Undocumented immigration has seen a sharp, steady increase over the last ten years only. For the fifteen years prior, the total number of undocumented immigrants fluxed up and down between 2.5 and 5 million people. The stagnation of wages and earnings of the working class has been steady since before the Regan administration. In other words, looking at the last 25 years, one does not find a correlation between the stagnation of the working class’s wages/earnings and the number of undocumented workers entering the U.S. What has been consistent over the period of working class wage/earning stagnation has been the rise in the wealth of the top income earners in the U.S (those in the top 5% of wage/earning power). The U.S. has transformed into hourglass economy in which more workers are earning less and the top earners are gaining income and wealth at a striking rate. In accessing the wage/earning power of the working class, it is also important to note the decline in union participation o