Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would…

“Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would have to rise to a level where Americans would want the jobs currently taken by illegal aliens.”

Thomas Sowell

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Legal immigration raises wages, making jobs less attractive to illegal workers, thus reducing illegal immigration.

In simple terms: Higher wages deter illegal workers.

Key Takeaway

Consider wage policies to address immigration.

Themes

economics immigration labor market

Mood

analytical critical

Type

policy economic

When to use this quote

business planning
government policy
public debate

Key Concepts

wage dynamics policy impact

Questions to Reflect On

Can wage changes alone curb illegal immigration?
What other factors influence illegal labor?

A Different Perspective

Assumes wage increase alone will solve complex immigration issues.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by Thomas Sowell

The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…

Thomas Sowell

There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.

Thomas Sowell

If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…

Thomas Sowell

“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…

Thomas Sowell

Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…

Thomas Sowell

Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.

Thomas Sowell

“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”

Thomas Sowell

The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…

Thomas Sowell

“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…

Thomas Sowell

The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…

Thomas Sowell

Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…

Thomas Sowell

Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? If not, then why should the children…

Thomas Sowell

What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…

Thomas Sowell

“those parts of the British Isles without the advantage of coal deposits or ports, industrialization was as handicapped as in other countries.”

Thomas Sowell

The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".

Thomas Sowell

Explore all 823 Thomas Sowell quotes

More Illegal quotes

It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…

Junot Diaz

I don't think marijuana should be illegal.

Jon Stewart

[Could you show us how Lana Del Rey dances in a club?] That would be illegal.

Lana Del Rey

Stupid is not illegal.

Dave Ramsey

The Chinese describe themselves as political refugees. Many base that claim on China's strict population laws, which allow them to have only one child.…

Ed Koch

On March 12, 2004, acting attorney general James B. Comey and the Justice Department's top leadership reached the brink of resignation over electronic surveillance…

Barton Gellman

Even the Supreme Court, back when it used to makes sense, the Supreme Court has never ruled that a baby born to illegal aliens…

Rush Limbaugh

I think we have two conflicting traditions in this country. I think it's important for us to recognize that we've got a tradition of…

Barack Obama

Before the Freedom of Information Act, I used to say at meetings "The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer." [...]…

Henry A. Kissinger

I mean, you take a look at this, it's one way. [Mexicans] get the jobs, they get the factories, they get the cash, and…

Donald Trump

I am calling on all citizens with access to unreleased records pertaining to illegal, unconstitutional, or immoral government activities to return those records to…

Ryan Shapiro