Minimum wage hikes cut immigrant hours, not jobs. The cost is flexibility.

Raising the minimum wage in the US reduces the hours worked by immigrants, especially recent arrivals in fast-turnover jobs. Native-born workers are not affected, even those with similar job characteristics.

This paper shows that minimum wage increases hit immigrant workers differently than native-born workers. It suggests that immigrant jobs in certain sectors are structured around flexible hours rather than stable employment. This flexibility is lost when wages rise, but the jobs themselves are not eliminated because replacing these workers is expensive for employers.