Economic Impact

Economic Impact

Immigrants are essential to the U.S. economy, filling roles from high-skilled tech sectors to agricultural labor and driving economic growth. They also contribute to the tax base and consumer spending. We champion reform that will maximize this effect and create a more diverse and competitive workforce.

Why Restricting Immigration Won’t Improve Work Opportunities for Natives

Why Restricting Immigration Won’t Improve Work Opportunities for Natives

Serious economists know that immigrant and native-born workers cannot simply be swapped for one another like batteries. On average, immigrants and the native-born differ in terms of formal education, job experience, and English-language skills. As a result, immigrants and the native-born tend to “complement” each other rather than directly… Read More

Eight Foreign-Born Olympians Win Medals for Team USA

Eight Foreign-Born Olympians Win Medals for Team USA

This year, nearly 50 foreign-born athletes proudly represented the U.S. as part of the Olympic team in Rio de Janeiro, and eight of them won medals. Kerron Clement, born in Trinidad and Tobago, won Gold in the men’s 400 meter hurdles (Track and Field). Kyrie Irving, who won gold with… Read More

Team USA Includes These Immigrants and Foreign-Born Athletes Competing for Gold

Team USA Includes These Immigrants and Foreign-Born Athletes Competing for Gold

As the Olympics kick off in Rio de Janeiro, the U.S. is well-represented by its citizens – both native and foreign born. Forty-seven of those competing on Team USA were born outside of the country. Some like basketball star Kyrie Irving, Boyd Martin who competes in equestrian, rugby… Read More

How Immigrants Strengthen the Economies of All 50 States

How Immigrants Strengthen the Economies of All 50 States

The economic and political impact of immigration is often discussed at the national level. This makes sense, especially since immigration is a nationwide issue and a federal responsibility. Yet this national focus often obscures the effects of immigration within particular states. Perhaps the most systematic and comprehensive effort so far… Read More

The Sins of the Fathers: The Children of Undocumented Immigrants Pay the Price

The Sins of the Fathers: The Children of Undocumented Immigrants Pay the Price

For the undocumented in America there is little doubt that the iniquities of the father are visited upon the child. On November 7th, for instance, an astounding 71 percent of voters in Arizona passed a referendum (Proposition 300) which states that only U.S. citizens and legal residents are eligible for in-state college tuition rates, tuition and fee waivers, and financial assistance. These are kids brought by their parents to this country as young children, in many instances infants in their mothers’ arms, and in every instance as children for whom the decision to come here was made without their participation. And yet, they shall pay the price, perhaps with their futures. The same referendum would deny childcare to the U.S.-citizen children of undocumented parents. Yes, the child is a citizen of the United States, but voters in Arizona have concluded that to provide the child with care is to reward the parents for the sin of seeking a better life in America. Read More

The Global Battle for Talent and People

The Global Battle for Talent and People

America’s strength lies in its openness and dynamic character. Current concerns about the U.S. economy should not distract from an understanding that in the long term America’s economic success requires the nation to attract 1) skilled professionals from across the globe to increase the competitiveness of American companies and 2) workers at the lower end of the skill spectrum to fuel the growth of the U.S. labor force, filling jobs created by the aging of the population. Read More

Bad for Business: How Anti-Immigrant Laws Can Hurt the Kansas Economy

Bad for Business: How Anti-Immigrant Laws Can Hurt the Kansas Economy

While proponents of harsh immigration laws in Kansas claim that passing these laws would save the state money, experience from other states shows harsh immigration-control laws will actually cost the state millions of dollars. Implementing the laws and defending them in the courts would cost Kansas’s taxpayers millions they can ill afford. The laws would make it more difficult for businesses to operate in the state and would deter investment, and the loss of taxpayers and consumers could devastate Kansas’s economy. Read More

Making a Difference in America: Immigrants Continue to Benefit our Nation

Making a Difference in America: Immigrants Continue to Benefit our Nation

Immigration is inextricably part of the American national identity and always has been. Immigrants are an integral part of the structural fiber that has kept the great melting pot flowing with creative ingenuity. The immigrants of times long past laid the framework for this great nation with their blood, sweat and tears. Read More

50 Welcoming Communities Honored at the White House

50 Welcoming Communities Honored at the White House

More than 50 U.S. cities and counties were honored at the White House on Thursday, for their work in creating inclusive and welcoming communities that engage in local immigrant integration efforts. The localities honored are part of the Building Welcoming Communities Campaign—a partnership among The White House… Read More

Immigrant Workers Enhance and Expand the U.S. Economy

Immigrant Workers Enhance and Expand the U.S. Economy

Over the years, more and more economists have come to the conclusion that immigrant workers “complement” the native-born majority of the labor force by bringing different sets of skills and different demographic profiles with them, both of which enhance and expand the economy as a whole. Immigration restrictionists, in… Read More

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