Washington, DC – Republicans’ nativism and relentless focus on keeping out and kicking out immigrants and refugees is inflicting consequences on the U.S. economy and dampening our economic potential. Their opposition to legal immigration or addressing backlogs, opposition to legal status for immigrants living and working here, including attacks on DACA and Republican support for barriers to asylum and refugee status continues to inflict a cost on all Americans as we struggle to recover from the reductions in immigration caused by COVID-19 and President Trump’s policies, some of which have continued during the Biden administration. From higher inflation, military readiness, supply chain issues to offshoring of jobs and more, the costs to Americans of GOP nativism are widespread.
A range of voices have been making this case in recent days, including:
- The New York Times reported on the dwindling number of migrant farmworkers: “The state reports that from 2010 to 2020, the average number of workers on California farms declined to 150,000 from 170,000. The number of undocumented immigrant workers declined even faster. The Labor Department’s most recent National Agricultural Workers Survey reports that in 2017 and 2018, unauthorized immigrants accounted for only 36 percent of crop workers hired by California farms. That was down from 66 percent, according to the surveys performed 10 years earlier.”
- National Foundation for American Policy founder Stuart Anderson wrote in Forbes about how cutting refugee admissions hurts America: “‘Today there are roughly 295,000 refugees ‘missing’ from the U.S. population due to the 86% reduction in refugee resettlement starting in 2017—those who would be present now if refugee admissions during 2017–2021 had stayed at their 2016 levels,’ according to [Michael] Clemens [an economist at the Center for Global Development]. ‘These missing refugees cost the overall U.S. economy over $9.1 billion each year ($30,962 per missing refugee per year, on average) and cost public coffers at all levels of government over $2.0 billion each year ($6,844 per missing refugee per year, on average).’”
- An op-ed in the Washington Post from Margaret Stock on the personnel deficit in the U.S. military and how migrants could help: “But a key reason the military can’t meet its recruiting goals is our nation’s problem with immigration. The U.S. population is now 13.5 percent foreign born, but foreign-born individuals make up less than 4 percent of the military. Thousands of qualified, U.S.-educated potential recruits cannot sign up. That’s because the Defense Department requires a green card — lawful permanent residence — for enlistment. But getting a green card these days is a herculean task that is beyond the reach of many otherwise lawful and qualified immigrants.”
- The American Business Immigration Coalition and the Texas Association of Business co-wrote a Newsweek op-ed on how immigrants can help the U.S. keep its competitiveness: “The House and the Senate are working on reconciling two bills—the America COMPETES Act in the House and the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act in the Senate—that seek to make our country more competitive by investing billions of dollars in scientific research, funding the development of new technologies and bolstering U.S. production of semiconductors. Language is under consideration that would ensure that American companies are free to compete for the world’s best talent by eliminating roadblocks faced by highly educated immigrants seeking to make America their home. Provisions in this bill free up more visas for immigrant entrepreneurs, create a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who obtain their PhD in the U.S. and eliminate the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineer and Math) workers visa caps that limit our nation’s talent pool.”
- The Seattle Times editorial board argued for legal immigration reform as an economic boon: “Polls have consistently shown that most Americans support legal immigration, yet elected representatives just as consistently have failed to enact comprehensive reform. The political realities ensure that will not change anytime soon, but the House’s bipartisan support of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act shows that modest steps are possible. This legislation is only a small piece of the larger immigration puzzle, but its positive impact on the lives of immigrants and the U.S. economy should push the Senate to ensure that it falls into place.”
- With continued Republican attacks on the DACA program, The Hill reported on lack of opportunities for Dreamer high school graduates: “As the DACA eligibility date fades into the past, upcoming high school classes will have a higher number of post-DACA graduates; more than 600,000 undocumented students are currently enrolled in K-12 schools in the United States, according to FWD.us data. Of those 600,000, only about 21,000 are already enrolled in the [DACA] program and potentially eligible for renewals, according to government data. The post-DACA Dreamers face different challenges depending on their state of residence. According to the study, around 43,000 Dreamers in the class of 2022 live in the 28 states that don’t provide in-state tuition for undocumented students, meaning they’ll be barred from working legally and will have to pay full tuition to attend state schools.”
According to Douglas Rivlin, Director of Communication for America’s Voice:
Immigrants are key for the prosperity of our nation. Their contributions, talents and hard work are needed ingredients for our economy and our global competitiveness. We all pay a price for GOP nativism. And it goes well beyond just the economics and jobs and missing consumers and taxpayers in our communities. The Republican leadership’s embrace of white nationalist messaging has been linked to horrific acts of violence; families separated by borders or by draconian family separation policies remain unable to reunite; and America may be losing some of what has made our society and economy so attractive to centuries of immigrants and strivers seeking opportunity, freedom and safety. The long-term consequences of Republican lawmakers’ nativism jeopardizes the long-term prospects for Americans in a nation that is enriched and fortified by each new generation of immigrants.
