The reason we refer the Gang of 8's plan as an "Amnesty/Immigration Surge" is that it doesn't just legalize illegal drywallers, it increases legal immigration, in the form of H-1b visas.
The drywallers take jobs from working-class Americans. The H-1bs will take jobs from American college graduates.
BusinessWeek is focused on the employer side, and gave Alien Nation a particularly savage review back in the day, but they've come out with a column which is unusually frank about the winners and losers:
"If the bill passes, there will be plenty more [H-1b] slots to go around. The bar to prove that one qualifies for those slots will also become more stringent. Even so, the number of available visas is expected to skyrocket. That will send ripples through the entire job market.
Which is great, if you’re a U.S. business seeking to recruit the best talent. It’s also great if you’re a university, because now you’ll have an easier time getting top graduates to stay on as researchers. But if you’re headed into the job market in the next couple years, the changes are rather frightening. No matter how you slice it, you’re likely to face more competition."[Immigration Reform May Make Your Job Search Much Tougher, By Elizabeth Dwoskin, BusinessWeek, April 17, 2013]
