Immigration reform may threaten some U.S. businesses
With illegal immigrants making up 5% of the work force, certain industries could get hit harder than others if immigration reform succeeds.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The raging debate among lawmakers over immigration reform may be far from over, but one thing is clear: Some industries may have a lot more to lose than others.

A recent study published by the Pew Hispanic Center revealed that almost 5 percent of workers, or 7.2 million people in the United States, are illegal immigrants, and that those workers account for a large percentage of certain occupations.

Undocumented workers, for example, make up 24 percent of farm workers within the United States, and represent 14 percent of the workers in the construction industry, according to the study

While a significant portion of unauthorized workers hold jobs within the cleaning and food preparation business, it is only within the leisure, hospitality and construction industries that illegal immigrants significantly outnumber the number of native born workers.

Currently, both the House and the Senate are offering their own legislative solution for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already living in the United States.

_____________

Missed out on the rest of the day's headlines? Click hereTop of page

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.

Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions.
Manage alerts | What is this?
Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.
Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.