Economics is one "science" where it is quite easy to manipulate data to promote anything you want to "prove". I don't find the arguments presented to be persuasive at all. The proof that illegal immigrants take jobs from lower skilled citizens is far from obvious, given it is hard to identify these folks in any quantifiable way sufficient to demonstrate the connection.
This wasn't an article trying to prove that immigration is horrible. He was simply pointing out that there is a lot in question that needs to be discussed, and that it is unproductive to call the other side racist and xenophobic which seems to be the mode of discussion right now.
I think reasonable people can disagree regarding the net effects of illegal immigrants, but at the same time one can't ignore the fact that they have a distorting effect on the u.s. labor markets and undoubtedly there are winners and losers as a result of those distortions.
As a life long Democrat, as of late I've felt a chilling effect for the ideas presented in this article. I've genuinely felt confusion when I hear my friends advocating for what in the 90s would be called neo-conservative views.
You've felt a chilling effect over the idea that we need to discuss the pros and cons of immigration??? I'm not surprised you are confused.