- Immigration
- US Labor Market
- Answering Challenges to Advanced Economies
Do high-skilled immigrants take jobs from American workers?
It's a common worry, and not an entirely unfounded one. But most Americans come out ahead — wages tend to rise and the benefits spread well beyond the industries that hire foreign talent. Restrictions, meanwhile, harm US competitiveness and weaken growth across the economy.
Key Takeaways
- High-skilled immigration doesn't affect all domestic workers equally. Whether an individual is better or worse off depends on their specific skills, education, and sector of employment.
- For the large majority of American workers who work outside high-skilled STEM occupations, the evidence shows that high-skilled immigration is broadly beneficial.
- Native high-skilled STEM workers can face real short-term frictions when high-skilled immigrants join the US workforce, such as increased competition for certain positions.
- Immigration restrictions aimed at protecting native workers may prove counterproductive. If firms can't find domestic workers with the skills they need, they may offshore high-skilled roles to other countries instead—taking support roles with them.
Cite this essay:
Isabel Lopez Ysmael, “Does High-Skilled Immigration Reduce Opportunities for US Workers?,” Hoover Immigration Initiative, Hoover Institution, September 2026.
