[ek_hornbeck]

Perhaps I misunderstood the point you were making. I read your post as saying that illegal immigration drives down wages and increases unemployment, but if the same people came here legally, they wouldn't be causing the same problem.

The bottom line is that most immigrants from Mexico and Central America are competing for low-skill and low-wage jobs with Americans, whether they are here legally or not. With unemployment among unskilled and semi-skilled workers at about 2x the rate of the general unemployment rate, the mantra of "they do the work Americans won't do" wears a little thin.

[Fledermaus]

Most of legal immigrants come under HB-1 and are very skilled.