Immigration in California Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Immigration in California - Term Paper Example Many experts believe that this effect is on the positive side as it has increased the wages of the native population as the immigrants have only complemented the jobs of the native workers and have not posed any significant threat to their jobs or other work benefits. California has the highest percentage of immigrant population, which included both legal and illegal immigrants, compared to the other states in the US. Reports from the center for immigration studies reveal that the state’s immigrant population accounted for about one-third of the all immigrants in the US during the mid 1990’s. Between the years 1990-2004 the new immigrants to the state increased by 40%. In addition the immigrant population included racially and ethnically diverse people mostly from Latin America and Asia with a majority of the immigrants hailing from Mexico, Philippines and China. However, studies have revealed that though the population drastically increased in the state as a result of immigration, it did not affect the employment opportunities of the native population but rather resulted in a wage increase for the native population by 4% between the years 1990-2004. The immigrant groups complemented the jobs of native workers which resulted in an economic growth (Peri, 2007; Johnson, 2011).