There is an interesting article in this week's ECONOMIST. Many of us in the US believe (erroneously) that migration is strictly an American problem, and this article discusses the issue on a more global scale. One of the conclusions it reaches, and this is in a section focusing directly on the problems being faced in the US, is that illegal migration has a very small (5% or less) effect on wages, and that is only at the lower end of the pay scale. Unemployment is presently at 4.7% and some labor economists will say that 5% is the "natural" level of unemployment, reflecting those who are between jobs voluntarily, those who are active looking and those who have unofficially taken themselves out of the job market.