Over the last several decades, two of the most significant developments in the U.S. labor
market have been: (1) rising inequality, and (2) growth in both the size and the diversity of
immigration flows. Because a large share of new immigrants arrive with very low levels of
schooling, English proficiency, and other skills that have become increasingly important
determinants of success in the U.S. labor market, an obvious concern is that such
immigrants are a poor fit for the restructured American economy. In this chapter, we
evaluate this concern by discussing evidence for the United States on two relevant topics:
the labor market integration of immigrants, and the impact of immigration on the wages and
employment opportunities of native workers. In these dimensions, the overall labor market
performance of U.S. immigrants seems quite favorable. U.S. immigrants have little trouble
finding jobs, and this is particularly true of unskilled immigrants. Most U.S. immigrants
experience substantial earnings growth as they adapt to the American labor market. For
most immigrant groups, the U.S.-born second generation has achieved socioeconomic parity
with mainstream society; for some Hispanic groups, however, this is not the case. On the
whole, immigration to the United States has not had large adverse consequences for the
labor market opportunities of native workers. Therefore, with regard to the economic
integration and labor market impacts of immigration, it is not obvious that the seemingly
haphazard nature of U.S. immigration policy has led to unfavorable outcomes
