Wages fell and many American-born workers left the industry.

Immigrants, it seems, are doing jobs that American-born workers do not want.

But the study hardly settled the question of whether immigrants make life tougher for American-born workers.

It assumes that immigrants do not always compete for the same jobs as American-born workers.

By contrast, American-born workers make up more than 99 percent of all crane operators and sewer-pipe cleaners.

Immigrants, in other words, compete more with each other than with American-born workers.

In 2000, he said, only 9 percent of American-born workers did not have a high school degree.

The early days of the church was sustained by courageous workers, both Chinese- and American-born as there were strong anti-Chinese sentiments in California at this time.

Hispanic immigrants, partly because many do not speak English, often receive less job and safety training than American-born workers do.

They would also secure many of the benefits and protections of American-born workers.