The president is not alone in pursuing these immigration restrictions. Although it passed by the narrowest possible margin in Congress, the recently enacted “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” contains a number of provisions, like a 300 percent increase in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), $45 billion for construction of ICE detention facilities, and $46 billion for border wall construction, designed to deter would-be immigrants to America.
Taken together, Trump’s executive orders since January and his signing of the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Act represent a radical shift in federal policy toward immigrants, based largely on myths and misinformation, like claims that immigrants are overrunning the US population, are more prone to committing violent crime, and are taking American jobs or relying on welfare assistance. In fact: The proportion of foreign-born residents of the US is the same today as it was in the early 1900s. While the share of the population made up immigrants has increased in recent decades, it is now same as it was at the turn of the 20th century. According to the Migration Policy Institute, in 1910, 14.7 percent of US residents were born in other countries. Today, that figure is slightly lower, at 14.3 percent. Immigration is stabilizing our population. Massachusetts has experienced a net migration of native-born citizens out of the state each year since 2011, and we have slipped from 9th to 16th place in population size. Immigration has been the only way we did not actually lose population overall. And the same is true across New England, which has the oldest average population of any region in the country and, as the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has noted, is being reenergized through immigration. The consequences of losing population are significant, and include a smaller workforce, fewer consumers, and fewer representatives in Washington. Immigrants are educated: According to the Migration Policy Institute, 48 percent of recently arrived immigrants have a college degree, compared to only 38 percent of native-born Americans. Immigrants are law-abiding: One of the big fears often stoked about immigrants is crime, and accusations that those seeking asylum or citizenship are violent criminals. But numerous studies over the years have demonstrated conclusively that immigrants commit fewer crimes and have lower rates of incarceration than native-born US citizens. Immigration improves our economy: According to a study from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, “Most economists agree that the effects of immigration on the US economy are broadly positive,” and include: Increased wages: Immigrants often do not compete for the same jobs as native US citizens, putting minimal downward pressure on wages. Rather, immigrants’ consumer needs increase the demands for goods and services, and studies find that immigration has actually raised average wages of native-born workers over the past few decades. Improved innovation: Immigrants account for a disproportionately high share of patent filings, science and technology graduates, and senior positions at top venture capital-funded firms. In addition, the presence of immigrants often creates opportunities for less-skilled native workers to become more specialized in their work, thereby increasing their productivity. Higher tax revenue: Contrary to one often expressed belief, most immigrants, including those in the country without authorization, pay significantly more in taxes over a lifetime than they consume in government services. According to a report by Pew Research, immigrants in the US illegally contribute more than $12 billion annually in state and local taxes. The average estimated tax rate of unauthorized immigrants is 8 percent, while the wealthiest one percent of Americans pay just over 5 percent. Approximately 75 percent of unauthorized immigrants contribute to Social Security—a benefit they are not even eligible to receive. Saving retirement: The US population is getting older. In 1990, there were five workers in America for every retiree. Now, there are only three. Without immigration, by 2030 that ratio will fall to only two—not enough to sustain our population of retirees.
Over the past few national election cycles, our nation has seemingly swung from one extreme to another as each party has sought to impose its vision for immigration on a population that appears equally divided over which way to turn.
A few years ago, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, ever the pragmatist, suggested that what we really need is “A high wall with a big gate,” an approach that would balance our very real need for national security and social cohesion with our equally compelling need for shoring up our aging, birth-rate-declining population with the energy and vibrancy of immigrants seeking a better way of life.
The last time Congress passed meaningful comprehensive immigration reform that moved us in that direction was nearly 40 years ago, when President Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which imposed penalties on employers who knowingly hired undocumented immigrants and increased funding for border security, but also provided amnesty and a path to citizenship for nearly three million undocumented immigrants.
President Reagan, and indeed leaders of both political parties until recently, recognized the importance of immigration to the very essence of what it means to be an American.
In his final speech as president, which is worth taking a few minutes to watch as a reminder of why he was called “the great communicator,” Reagan noted, “We lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people—our strength—from every country and every corner of the world. And by doing so we continuously renew and enrich our nation.”
Then he cautioned, “If we ever close the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.”
Four decades later, under the policies being implemented by the Trump administration, we are rapidly spiraling in the direction Reagan feared for the nation.
Reagan added one more particularly poignant point, which was inescapably obvious to the crowd watching those half-dozen newly naturalized American citizens wave their flags and sing “God Bless America” at the recent graduation ceremony for Northern Essex’s Center for Adult Education: “Those who become American citizens love this country even more.” |
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