Illegal Immigration

Illegal Immigration Literature Review
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The issue of illegal immigration and its impacts on the economy has, over recent years, attracted debates and attention from different angles. The intricate relationship between undocumented immigration and the economy has triggered policymakers and researchers to comprehensively conduct studies on the topic. In California, approximately 10 percent of workers are illegal immigrants, making it the second state with the highest number of undocumented laborers in the United States (U.S.) after Nevada (Hayes & Hill, 2017). It is crucial to consider the economic ramifications of illegal immigration in California, considering different variables such as economic growth, fiscal budget, wages, and employment. Specifically, comprehending fiscal implications, general economic growth and sustainability, wage levels and patterns, and the employment and labor market dynamics related to illegal immigration is fundamental in formulating key strategies and policies. This literature seeks to investigate the existing knowledge and evidence on the above aspects, offering valuable insights into the economic implications of illegal immigration in California.
Definitions
Several terms used in this literature need definitions within their context to ensure understanding and clarity. Illegal immigration, sometimes regarded as undocumented or unauthorized immigration, refers to people entering or living in a particular country or state without any suitable documentation or authorization. Fiscal impacts imply the financial implications caused by illegal immigration on benefits or costs related to public service provisions for undocumented immigrants. Wage levels and patterns entail trends and distribution of salaries and wages among employees, including any inequities or changes resulting from increased illegal immigrants in the job market. Employment and labor market impacts involve the implications of undocumented immigration on the dynamics of the labor market, job availability, and employment prospects for foreign-born and native-born employees. Economic growth and sustainability imply the general expansion and economic viability in the long run, including its capacity to ensure growth rate stability, produce employment opportunities, support businesses, and improve residents' living standards. Sustainable economic growth implies any form of economic growth that does not harm the environment in any way (Ferreira et al., 2020)
Fiscal Implications
The fiscal implications of unauthorized immigration evaluate the effect on government expenditures and public finances. Research in the area investigates the use of such public services as social welfare, education, and healthcare by illegal immigrants. Also, they examine the economic costs and tax contributions concerning offering general services to such groups. This section discusses existing studies on the fiscal implications of unauthorized immigration, specifically in California. According to the California Immigrant Data Portal (2022), the state's immigrant households paid nearly 80.8 billion in taxes to the federal government and approximately $38.9 billion in local and state taxes. In 2018, the aggregate expenditure potential of immigrants, irrespective of their documentation status in California, amounted to approximately $290.9 billion (California Immigrant Data Portal, 2022). Williams et al. (2019) conducted extensive research to examine the budgetary impact of illegal immigration in different states in the United States, such as California. The study revealed that although unauthorized immigrants present various costs on public services like healthcare coverage and education, their tax contributions outweigh such expenses. The study explained that undocumented immigrants substantially contribute to the state's and local communities' finances and economy. Like other residents, they pay taxes, shop locally, and work. The study shows that this population segment offers a positive financial effect. Despite their migration status, California has made significant strides to provide public services like healthcare coverage to undocumented children. Also, the study revealed that illegal immigration in California positively contributed to wages and, thus, positive financial impacts (Williams et al., 2019).
Complementary research by Douthit and Old (2019) further investigated the use of such public services as healthcare by illegal immigrants in states like California. The study incorporated a comprehensive approach to evaluating this population's access to healthcare, mainly focusing on renal replacement. The study revealed that initially, immigrants benefited from Medicare entitlement, although the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act restricted illegal immigrants from using public services like health. Such states as California opted to utilize emergency Medicaid funded by the state to offer chronic outpatient dialysis for unauthorized immigrants since states could not use federal funding for unauthorized immigrants. The findings show that there are costs related to the provision of chronic dialysis to illegal immigrants, but the economic and tax contributions of payments offset such costs. For instance, the study reveals that the health coverage cost of $260 million for illegal immigrant renal transplant pales compared to the 11 to 15 billion dollars undocumented immigrants pay annually in social security payroll taxation (Douthit & Old, 2019). Ultimately, the research emphasized the significance of factoring in the economic benefits and tax payments in evaluating the fiscal effects of illegal immigration.
Two studies above by Williams et al. (2019) and Douthit and Old (2019) demonstrate the positive financial implications of unauthorized immigration, but it is vital to recognize other perspectives. Other scholars like Galvan et al. (2021) and Bastick and Mallet-Garcia (2022) argue that the fiscal impact in the context of illegal immigrants may differ based on public benefits accessibility, employment status, and skill levels. For example, critics of the positive implications propose illegal immigrants disproportionately depend on public services without effectively and efficiently contributing to taxes. They contend that providing public services like healthcare, education, and social welfare to such a population constrains state budgets and negatively impacts native-born citizens.
Borjas and Cassidy (2019) conducted a study to offer a more balanced perspective, mainly focusing on the wage implications of illegal immigrants in California. The research incorporated an algorithm to assess and examine the size and determining factors of wage penalties for unauthorized immigrants. It revealed that unlawful immigrants stand to earn less compared to legal immigrants with similar qualifications and skills simply because they have limited alternatives in the job market. The study's findings indicate that the adverse wage implications for the particular labor force group could be conceptualized as an indirect financial impact of undocumented immigration (Borjas & Cassidy, 2019). Yao et al. (2021) further studied the wage perspectives in California state through panel data analysis. The study indicated that illegal immigration adversely affected native-born workers' wages, particularly those in manual labor or with lower education. Native-born workers are increasingly inclined to sign up for labor unions or push for remuneration constraints to ensure they are not affected by reinforced job market competition (Yao et al., 2021).
Employment and Labor Market Implications
According to East et al. (2018), nearly 8 million illegal immigrants earned a livelihood from the U.S. labor industry in 2015, comprising approximately 5% of the country's labor force, with a significant share of that figure working in California. In California, employers are legally bound to avoid discriminating against any worker, irrespective of their documentation status. Therefore, even if the worker is undocumented, the employer cannot refuse to hire them, harass them, or take action against them because of their nationality. Whereas immigrants make substantial contributions to California's economy, valuing the state's immigrants for outstanding achievements rather than economic contributions constitutes a great strategy to counter untrue perspectives concerning their role in the country. In 2019, the immigrant population comprised 27 percent of California's aggregate populace and generated $37.7 billion to the state as well as local tax collections, $77.7 billion to U.S. revenues, and over $291 billion in expenditure potential (California Immigrant Data Portal, 2022). In this vein, it is plausible to assert that illegal immigrants constitute a significant share of the total workforce in California and the U.S., with their contributions having far-reaching labor market implications.
There has been extensive research on the labor and job market implications of unauthorized immigration in California. Comprehending the industries and sectors with a high concentration of illegal immigrants, their impacts on the labor force, and their influence on native-born citizens' wages and job opportunities is vital in understanding the economic effects of undocumented immigration. Massey (2020) conducted extensive research on the impact of illegal immigration on advanced labor markets like the U.S. job and labor market. The study demonstrated that the globalization of labor markets and structural division increased labor market demand. This research showed that illegal immigration seriously threatened native-born workers as they drove wages down and increased unemployment rates. States in the ...