Millions of immigrants, trapped in low-wage jobs because they lack English language skills, are paying less in taxes and collecting more in public assistance than their counterparts who speak English, according to a nationwide study by Lowell Gallaway and Richard Vedder, Ohio University distinguished professors of economics.

Gallaway and Vedder's findings attracted headlines in newspapers nationwide, including a front-page story in USA Today Feb. 28. Lack of English skills is costing the U.S. economy an estimated $75 billion a year, according to the study.

Immigrants with limited English language skills earn about 30 percent less money than their native-born American counterparts, according to Gallaway.

The Boston Herald, Rocky Mountain News and Las Vegas Review were among papers that ran stories on the study.

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