Agriculture and construction are amongst the 7 industries that most commonly hire illegal immigrants, likely to the surprise of few. The immigrant population in the U.S accounts for 17% of its overall workforce, while illegal immigrants (8 million in 2014) form around 5% of the workforce. The agriculture industry is the top illegal immigrant employer, with 17% of its workforce comprised of unauthorized immigrants, while the transportation and utilities industries are at the bottom of the list with less than 6% of their workforces made up of illegal immigrants. The distribution of immigrants in industries varies from one state to another, but it is interesting to note that the 7 industries that most commonly hire illegal immigrants have strong footholds in some states; for example, the illegal immigrants being employed by the agriculture industry in Idaho make up a large percentage of that state’s illegal workforce.
In 2014, an estimated 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the U.S according to the Pew Research Center. The immigrant population as a whole increased to 42.2 million in 2014 from just 9.7 million in 1960. A majority of the illegal population lives in California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. These six states are home to 59% of the illegal immigrants in the country. For further related reading, you’ll also want to check out our list of The Top 10 US States Invaded By Illegal Immigrants.
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U.S. President Donald Trump holds a strong view against unauthorized immigration. During his Presidential campaign, Trump voiced his concerns against illegal immigration and has famously vowed to build a massive wall along the United States-Mexico border, to prevent illegal aliens from stepping onto American soil. Trump has also proposed a merit-based immigration system and mass deportation of illegal immigrants. However, mass deportation of immigrants could lead to both economic and fiscal damage to the U.S economy. According to a report from the Center for American Progress, the federal government could incur $900 billion in revenue losses over the next decade in the event of a mass deportation of illegals. According to another study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, illegal immigrants contribute billions of dollars in taxes, which would be lost as a result of an unfavorable immigration policy.
Though they migrate illegally into the U.S, unauthorized immigrants help spur the growth of the U.S economy. U.S agriculture is highly dependent on unauthorized immigrants and illegal aliens in general tend to work jobs which require low-skilled labor due to educational and legal barriers, jobs which aren’t in very high demand among the more skilled and educated pool of Americans.
Over the next few pages you will read about the industries that most commonly hire illegal immigrants. The list is inspired by the findings of the Pew Research Center, which conducts public opinion polling and demographic research. The industries are ranked based on the percentage of their workforces that are estimated to be illegal aliens as of 2014. We’ll also list the largest U.S employer in each industry as of 2015, which are affected by illegal immigrants directly (through either them or their suppliers/subcontractors employing some of them) or indirectly (primarily due to illegal immigrant workers keeping wages and costs artificially lower across each industry). And now, let’s see our list of industries that most commonly hire illegal immigrants.
7. Transportation and Utilities
Immigrant Workforce: less than 6%
Top U.S Employer: United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS), 362,000 employess
Illegal immigrants comprised less than 6% of the transport and utilities industry’s total workforce. The trucking industry in the U.S depends a great deal on immigrants, with people coming in droves from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America to take these jobs. The proportion of illegal immigrant drivers also varies from state to state.
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6. Wholesale/Retail
Immigrant Workforce: less than 6%
Top U.S Employer: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT), 1.5 million employees
The Wholesale/Retail industry in the U.S also employs a considerable number of illegal immigrants. These jobs do not require any specialization and can be performed by just about anyone with some training. As such, many undocumented immigrants take these jobs. For them, it is the way to start their American dream!
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5. Manufacturing
Immigrant Workforce: 6%
Top U.S Employer: International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), 377,757 employees
In the manufacturing industry, unauthorized immigrants account for 6% of the total workforce. Generally, a few subsets of each major industry tend to employ a higher proportion of illegal immigrants, such as the apparel manufacturing industry (which falls under the manufacturing industry), which had a high concentration of unauthorized immigrants among its workers.
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4. Business and Other Services
Immigrant Workforce: 7%
Top U.S Employer: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), 316,000 employees
The business and other services industry includes a wide range of services, ranging from professional services like legal and advertising to personal services like salons. Together, the illegal immigrant population accounted for 7% of its total workforce. Unauthorized immigrants are less likely to be working in jobs related to education, health or public administration services compared to some of the other jobs available in the industry.
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3. Hospitality
Immigrant Workforce: 9%
Top U.S Employer: Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS), 180,000 employees
Hospitality is ranked third on our list of industries that most commonly hire illegal immigrants, as an estimated 9% of its workforce in 2014 was of the illegal alien variety, the percentage remaining unchanged from two years prior. The hospitality industry employed more illegal immigrants than any other industry in ten U.S states. Hawaii and Nevada are among the states which employed a large number of immigrants in the hospitality industry.
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2. Construction
Immigrant Workforce: 13%
Top U.S Employer: Bechtel Corporation, 55,000 employees
The construction industry was the second-largest employer of illegal immigrants in the U.S in 2014, with 13% of its workers qualifying as such, while U.S-born workers accounted for 76% of its employees. In 2012, 12% of the total workforce in the U.S construction industry was made up of illegal immigrants. Alaska (50%), South Carolina (35%), and Nebraska (33%) were the three states that had the highest percentage their illegal workers employed by the construction industry.
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1. Agriculture
Immigrant Workforce: 17%
Top U.S Employer: Cargill, 153,000 employees
With illegal immigrants accounting for 17% of the total workforce in the U.S agriculture industry, it ranks first among the 7 industries that most commonly hire illegal immigrants. The agriculture industry was the largest employer of unauthorized immigrants, with the number of such employees increasing from 16% in 2012. Since agriculture jobs do not require any specific skill set, a large number of people tend to be employed in this industry. As mentioned previously, many of Idaho’s illegal immigrants (35%) are employed in the state’s agriculture industry.
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Disclosure: None
