UNAUTHORIZED IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED-STATES

This paper surveys research on the size of the undocumented immigrant population in the United States, the causes and consequences of illega l migrant flows, public attitudes toward unauthorized migrants, and th e history of attempts to control the volume of undocumented migration. It concludes that there are powerful push and pull factors that creat e and sustain the volume of unauthorized migration, that there is litt le evidence that undocumented migrants have negative labor market cons equences despite what the general public thinks, that US policy has be en largely powerless to make a permanent dent in undocumented immigrat ion, and that the current level of clandestine US immigration may not be far from what society might view as socially optimal.