[mede8er]

But would it benefit consumers in any way—like a decrease in taxes?
At the federal level, [undocumented immigrants] turn out to be a net-positive benefit because immigrants are young and the federal government is spending money on programs for the elderly, like Medicare and Social Security. At the state and local level they tend to be a tax burden, not because of welfare and not because of health, but because of education. In California, we estimated that the native-born households were paying about $1,200 more in taxes than they received in benefits in order to pay for immigrants.

What’s the biggest misconception about the impact of undocumented workers on the U.S. economy?
I think people overstate their importance. It’s a positive benefit but it’s not the be-all end-all of the economy.

Immigration specialist James P. Smith