Washington, DC — Donald Trump’s unsparing mass deportation plans to separate millions of American families and deport the spouses of U.S. citizens, Dreamers and immigrants who have lived here for decades would wreck communities and the economy and is the single most consequential immigration – and economic – topic of the 2024 campaign.
In a timely Wall Street Journal op-ed, former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Jason Furman writes, “Immigration Is Behind the Strong U.S. Economy,” noting, “We’d be a poorer, weaker country without it. Too bad Biden couldn’t make that point at the debate” (fuller excerpts from the op-ed below).
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“Immigrants are a source of strength and vitality for America, not the burden and threat that Donald Trump portrays. His plans to mass deport millions by deploying the military and law enforcement in American communities would be a civic, moral, and economic catastrophe that would devastate families, communities, and our economy. Yet when asked about his mass deportation plans at the first debate, Trump refused to answer. He ignored Jake Tapper’s detailed question, switched topics and then pivoted to tell more lurid and ugly lies about immigrants. The American people deserve to hear Trump and his fellow Republicans’ answer for the specifics of the plan they have proposed. Trump should answer the question. And reporters and others should keep pressing until he does. We need to know how far he is willing to go to destroy the economy in the name of nativism and for details about the most consequential immigration and economic issue of the campaign.”
Read the Wall Street Journal op-ed from Jason Furman, former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, “Immigration Is Behind the Strong U.S. Economy“ and find key excerpts below:
“The most economically important part of the presidential debate was a leitmotif—and at times, a heavy motif—throughout the evening: immigration.
… the U.S. economy has defied pessimistic forecasts, with 200,000 jobs added a month, real growth in gross domestic product at 3% in the past year, and an inflation rate that has fallen dramatically in the past few years. The biggest factor behind this strong economic performance is immigration.
But aren’t immigrants taking jobs from native-born workers? The answer is no, as a simple statistic—the employment rate for native-born workers 25 to 54—demonstrates … Immigrants aren’t merely workers competing for a fixed number of jobs. They’re also consumers who generate demand and the need for more jobs.
…In the debate, Mr. Biden never defended immigration for enabling him to preside over strong economic and job growth. That’s unsurprising given the mixed feelings Americans have about immigration. But the reality is that we’d be a poorer and weaker country without it—doomed to having a shrinking number of workers paying higher taxes to support a growing number of retirees.”
Also read from America’s Voice:
