On a State Level Immigration Boosts Wages and Employment New Study Shows

A common refrain from anti-immigration organizations is that immigrants weaken the wages of American workers and do damage to the economy. 

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, on a state level the opposite is true:

Immigration actually boost wages and increase productivity overall for states that have large populations of immigrant workers.

The report written by Giovanni Peri, entitled The Effects of Immigrants on U.S. Employment and Productivity examined the following:

The effects of immigration on the total output and income of the U.S. economy can be studied by comparing output per worker and employment in states that have had large immigrant inflows with data from states that have few new foreign-born workers.

Statistical analysis of state-level data shows that immigrants expand the economy's productive capacity by stimulating investment and promoting specialization.

The paper also examined the short and long term effect of immigration on the economy:

Immigration effects on employment, income, and productivity vary by occupation, job, and industry. Nonetheless, it is possible to total these effects to get an aggregate economic impact.

Here we attempt to quantify the aggregate gains and losses for the U.S. economy from immigration.

If the average impact on employment and income per worker is positive, this implies an aggregate “surplus” from immigration.

In other words, the total gains accruing to some U.S.-born workers are larger than the total losses suffered by others.

A lot of great information here, highly reccomend reading from start to finish. The economic data presented here helps to contextualize the current debate over immigrants and wages.