No skills? No problem! The economic case for welcoming low-skilled immigrants.

• Author: de Rugy, Veronique
• Position: Columns

As COMPREHENSIVE immigration reform rockets toward the top of Washington's to-do list, a surprising consensus has emerged around the idea that the United States can and should offer more visas to highly educated, highly skilled, and highly paid immigrants.

But what about the relatively low-skilled, low-paid migrants who comprise the vast majority of the people who have actually washed up on American shores for the past 150 years? What are the arguments for allowing more low-skilled workers--many of whom have English skills as thin as their resumes--to either enter legally or remain in the country?

Nativists often focus particular ire on these would-be immigrants, accusing them of placing undue strain on the host country's resources. But low-skilled immigrants aren't the only people whose lives improve by the act of crossing the border. All Americans benefit when we welcome the tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Roughly 13 percent of U.S. citizens are foreign-born, up from the low of 4.7 percent in 1970 but still below the record 14.8 percent in 1890. As in the past, most immigrants lack high school degrees. Unlike the immigrants of previous generations--who joined the ranks of a generally low-skilled populace--modern immigrants stand out in a country where 87.5 percent of adults have at least a high school diploma.

That mismatch helps explain why there's still so much anxiety about low-skilled immigrants in a country that is otherwise far less xenophobic than a century ago. Natives worry that cheap labor--especially by illegal workers --will push down wages and limit employment opportunities. A February 2012 study from the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers found that 40 percent of respondents blame illegal immigrants for high levels of unemployment.

There's no question that unauthorized workers earn less than legal immigrants and native-born workers.According to the Census Bureau, in 2010 the average income for Mexican immigrants ($35,254) was significantly lower than for native born ($50,541) and other immigrants ($46,224).

So why do we want them around? Because they do work that is in high demand but low supply. These are jobs that the average American simply doesn't want; lettuce picking, roofing, painting, leaf blowing. This remains true even during a recession when immigration flows--even or especially low-skilled workers--slow down or reverse.

Immigrants don't just do the jobs Americans won't do...