[pcardh0]

This article doesn't mention the large number of illegal immigrants in the United States. To what extend does this affect income inequality? A large supply of unskilled labor would tend to keep wages lower.

Maybe the US should keep the unskilled labor market tight(er) and then wages should rise.

[andybak]

Does the US have more illegal immigrants as a proportion of it's population than other Western nations? I'm asking because I genuinely don't know. (I was tempted to put quotes around illegal immigrants because it's a fairly contested term but that would have possibly set the wrong tone)

I do get the sense that every country thinks they are a special case with regards to immigration. We definitely seemed to go through that phase in the UK.

[d1zzy]

If you're looking for a "better" term you could try using "undocumented immigrants" as that's the term normally used in more liberal media.