Washington, DC — Leading voices across the political and civic arenas have been highlighting the importance of immigrants to our economy and noting that the benefits of immigration to the U.S. economy extend well beyond simply the benefits to immigrants. Adding to what AV put out earlier this week, a slew of new reports and coverage has come out in recent days as more people grasp that immigration helps reduce population loss and has benefits across the economy – especially if we were to overcome congressional opposition and put in place a modernized safe, legal, and orderly system. While opponents of immigration and far-right pundits continue to demagogue migrants and advance dangerous conspiratorial rhetoric, the reality is that America is strengthened, economically and culturally, by immigrants and immigration:
- Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, led a press conference on Monday on “Economic Benefits of a Functioning Immigration System” with several notable participants:
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- Rep. Jayapal: “Employers need workers, and migrants who are here are ready to work. If we update our old and outdated immigration system, we would be able to get the full benefit of immigrant contributions to our workforce.”
- Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus: “CBO said the deficit is smaller than last year because of more people working; 5.2m more ppl are in the workforce, mostly due to net immigration. As a result, there will be $7 Trillion more in projected GDP.”
- Rep. Delia Ramirez, (D-IL): “1 in 5 businesses are started by immigrants. If we reformed immigration, we could extend Social Security by 40 YEARS for everyone. Immigrants deserve to be in the people’s house, and it’s time to stop making excuses and do the right thing.”
- Aaron Seyedian, Founder of Well-Paid Maids: “Immigrants are friendly, optimistic, daring, hard-working – these are American traits. That’s not an accident. We’ve always been a country of immigrants.”
- In The Wall Street Journal, Paul Overberg and Michelle Hackman write: “Accelerating immigration to the U.S. boosted population growth in major metropolitan areas last year, new figures released Thursday from the Census Bureau show. A Wall Street Journal analysis of county estimates for the year that ended June 30 shows that immigration was the main factor slowing or reversing population losses in large metros in the Northeast and Midwest after an exodus during the pandemic.”
- For Axios, Neil Irwin and Courtenay Brown write: “A surge in immigration last year helps explain the economy’s striking resilience — and if sustained, could allow the job market to keep booming without stoking inflation in the years ahead. Immigration policy is deeply politically contentious, but there is a strong consensus among economic policymakers that the immigration increase is a key part of the labor supply surge that helped bring down price pressures last year even amid the economy’s robust growth.”
- Writing in Reuters, Mike Dolan assesses, “While the politicians argue over the whys and wherefores of that jump in migrant numbers, the economic impact is already highly significant. In a paper released last week, Brookings economists Wendy Edelberg and Tara Watson reckoned the CBO revisions – which show 3.3 million net immigrants last year compared to the 1 million projected pre-pandemic – can help explain the surprising strength of consumer spending and overall growth since 2022. But they also said the new numbers suggest the labor market could run hotter than previously thought without fueling wage and inflation pressures.”
- An editorial in The Dallas Morning News, “What’s left unsaid about the impact of immigration on the economy”: “Our economy would work better if the U.S. had an orderly immigration system that responded quickly to the country’s labor needs. While asylum-seekers and parolees can join the labor force legally with work permits, they live in limbo until their status runs out. Parole is a temporary status, and asylum seekers must fit narrow criteria to be granted asylum … The asylum system was not designed as a funnel for economic migration, but we have let it turn into that. It’s the job of Congress to overhaul our immigration system to balance a supply of potential foreign workers with industry demands and to speed up the pace of visa processing to avoid the backlogs that have burdened employers for decades. The success of our economy must not rely on a shadow labor force.”
