Despite a perception that illegal immigrants struggle at society’s fringes, a University of Illinois at Chicago study suggests that many have secured roles in the economic mainstream.
The wide-ranging study, to be released Thursday, found that illegal immigrants get jobs as readily as legal immigrants. Illegal immigrants who learn English, join a union or improve their education can advance beyond minimum-wage work into high-paying blue-collar jobs.
In the end, however, illegal status remains a burden that keeps immigrants in dangerous jobs, where they often are abused or cheated, according to the survey of more than 1,600 legal and illegal immigrants in the metropolitan area.
Researchers and activists say undocumented immigrants will not report abuses to the authorities because they fear deportation. Illegal immigrants also have a limited ability to jump to other jobs, the study found.
“For many years, illegal immigrants have been called the informal labor force. I don’t think anything could be further from the truth,” lead researcher Chirag Mehta said. “They have become part of the mainstream.”
The UIC report is considered the first detailed look into how immigration status affects jobs and wages. An estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants live in Illinois.
The unemployment rate for illegal immigrants in Chicago is 10 percent, the study found, only a shade higher than the 9.8 percent rate for all immigrants. Some subgroups, including Latin American men without legal status, find work at the same rate as the general population.
The UIC study found that illegal immigrants make a median wage of $7 an hour, about $2 less than legal immigrants. The minimum wage is $5.15.
Illegal immigrants can move beyond minimum-wage jobs the study found. Union membership gives hourly salaries a 20 percent boost, and English proficiency provides a 15 percent increase.
Even with improved wages, though, illegal immigrants in Chicago are twice as likely to claim dangerous work conditions and three times more likely to be cheated out of a paycheck, according to their responses to the UIC survey. The study found that illegal immigrants are concentrated in a few occupations, giving them little ability to switch jobs if abuses arise.
Both proponents and critics of a plan to legalize a large number of illegal immigrants in the United States seized on the study to bolster their cases.
Activists believe the information supports their efforts to revive a legalization plan, which was shelved after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“No matter how they got into the country, they are functioning as citizens of our community. Why don’t we make space for them?” said Sarita Gupta, executive director of Chicago Jobs with Justice.
Dave Gorak, executive director of the Villa Park-based Midwest Coalition to Reduce Immigration, said the study confirms that the government and employers have been lax in keeping illegal immigrants from jobs they don’t deserve.
“I can’t fault them for trying to improve their lives by jumping over the border,” Gorak said. “But that doesn’t mean they should be rewarded.”
