From 1970 onwards, the percentage of foreign-born people in the country started rising sharply, and hit about 13 percent by 2013. In that time period, the number of foreign-born people jumped from 9.7 million to 41.3 million people.
The Congressional Research Service released a report to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week that noted a sharp drop in the wages of the bottom 90 percent of tax filers starting in the 1970s, which was when the U.S. experienced a significant increase in the number of immigrants entering the country.
The findings support arguments that Republicans have been making for years now — that bringing in more immigrants will lead to a drop in wages that will hurt U.S. citizens.
And it goes directly against arguments made by the Obama administration, which has said President Barack Obama’s plan would do little to affect wages.
According to the CRS report, the percentage of foreign-born people in the U.S. fell between 1945 and 1970, and hit a low of about 5 percent by 1970. During that time, the average income of the bottom 90 percent of tax filers roughly doubled.
Specifically, the number of foreign-born people in the U.S. actually fell, from nearly 11 million to 9.7 million, while wages jumped 82.5 percent.
But from 1970 onwards, the percentage of foreign-born people in the country started rising sharply, and hit about 13 percent by 2013. In that time period, the number of foreign-born people jumped from 9.7 million to 41.3 million people.
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