Does immigration really make American workers poorer? A response to Bernie Sanders.

The Democratic presidential candidates says raising immigration levels is a "Koch brothers" proposal. But it doesn't have to be.

Bernie Sanders
(Image credit: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator making a run for the Democratic presidential nomination, has always had a rather complex relationship with immigration.

The self-described democratic socialist voted for the DREAM Act, supports a pathway to citizenship, and has spoken out on the travails faced by immigrant and migrant worker families. But he also raised objections to comprehensive immigration reform in 2007, mainly due to the various guest worker policies it included. So Americans who prioritize immigration as an issue view Sanders with some trepidation, and the senator has been modifying his message to assuage them.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.