Activists against illegal immigration have argued the opposite — that the influx of undocumented workers is driving down wages and taking jobs from Americans.

The report didn't look at any impact the influx of immigrant workers might have on U.S.-born workers' employment prospects or wages. It also didn't separate illegal immigrants from legal immigrants.

But the author did speculate that moves in Washington to curb the tide of illegal immigration may not change the trends in the report.

"So far it does not seem to have reduced the flow of foreign-born workers into the economy, which suggests economic forces and labor market forces are stronger than what we do at the border," Kochhar said. "There's little reason to suspect that will change in the near future."

The report was based on an analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey. The Pew Hispanic Center was founded in 2001 as a nonpartisan research organization with a mission of improving understanding of the growing Hispanic population and its impact on the nation.

The full report is available online at www.pewhispanic.org.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com