COSTS AND BENEFITS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: KEY ISSUES FOR GOVERNMENT POLICY

This article proves through a model based on domestic income distribution, why large coporations and employers have such opposite stances on illegal immigration. The author focuses
on the southwestern US demographic of the labor force and is able to develop the relationship
that U.S. Legal domestic workers who compete for jobs against the illegal aliens generally experience on average a low wage rate. Yet, the author is able to recognize within his research that concerning the rewards to the labor force, illegal immigration cannot be conclusively termed as beneficial to the economy: according to the paper the benefits of illegal immigration "are ambiguous". But he is however, able to establish the trend that as "reward to capital owners rises (falls), then the wage rate paid to the members of the labor force who compete only indirectly with illegal alien workers will necessarily fall (rise)".

The overall advantage of using a scholarly document in research is that while there may be one side which is fairly supported and that this one side may receive a degree of advocacy from the author, there is an acknowlegdement of the opposite side of the question and whether or not any decisive conclusion can be deduced (such as whether or not illegal immigration is beneficial to the economy). The biggest advantage though to any sort of deduction used from a scholarly article is that it can be supported with data and statistics and analysis. This offers a better adavantage in arguing one's point than merely just stating a belief. For instance, the author (Gerking, Shelby) is able to support the fact that lower wage rate is found in the southwestern labor force where there is competition with illegal aliens but at the same time realizes that with this research he cannot state that illegal immigration is harmful or beneficial to the economy. It can be said that illegal immigration hurts (the labor force) those whom are in competetion with the illegal aliens but cannot deduce that illegal immigration harms the economy.