Immigration, Ethnic Stratification, and Native Working Class Discipline: Comparisons of Documented and Undocumented Dominicans

A number of notions regarding the functions served by international labor immigration, expecially the undocumented population, are examined in this article. Comparisons of the working conditions of documented and undocumented Dominicans in New York City are made. Although the two groups resemble one another in terms of organization and industrial sector of employment, the organization of their respective firms is markedly different. It is concluded that one of the most important functions served by the illegal alien population is political and resides in its controllability by employers in the secondary labor market and, consequently, operates to discipline the native labor force.