And did you notice that you are talking about social mobility? Its not economic development you are talking about but rather social mobility, .ie movement of one family to a higher level. How is immigration going to affect that, and least of all, how is low skilled immigration going to affect that?
Economic development on the other hand is completely different. It is just the increased availability of goods and services to the citizens of the country today than what it was yesterday
To give an example, lets take a family of three generations A, B, and C, who are all respectively grandfather, father and son.
1. Now if A, B and C are all carpentors by profession, then they are not socially mobile. They have not moved on from a lower middle class/low class job to a higher status. BUT, if A earned only 100 rupees a month and could only afford his basic life needs, B earns rupees 1000 a month and can afford some luxuries along with his life needs and C earns rupees 10000 rupees per month and owns a car and what not, then B has improved economically over than A and C has improved economically better than B. SO here we have economic developement but we "may not" social mobility wrt to this family(.ie the carpentors are still considered lower middle class job even during the time of C).
2. but, if A is a carpentor, B is an office clerk, and C is a doctor, then we have a socially mobile family, which has moved from lower/lower middle class to middle class and then finally upper middle class.
The two are different. Why do you say unskilled immigrants cause problems with social mobility? Its illogical. By defn, they are the lowest in the labor order and hence would not be in any position to upset any social mobility. I mean, a low skilled immigrant is not going to stop a carpentor's son from becoming a clerk, if he is going to take up a carpentors job!
Atleast, if you claim that immigration of higher skilled workers like Doctors and engineers into India will lead to stopping of social mobility- it will make sense in context(though I dont agree with that either). For example, my parents(both doctors) were son and daughter of farmers. So if two doctors were immgrated here, they would have made life more difficult for my parents due to them stealing the job of my parents as claimed by the anti-immigration argument?? So should not the higher skilled labor cause more problems for social mobility by your logic?
Correct me if I have misunderstood your position
@pmaitra