With borders now secure, there are calls for President Trump and Congress to enact new legislation that would enhance legal immigration to benefit the US economy and labor force in the future, according to a recent study.
The research suggests that immigration may play an increasingly vital role in driving economic growth in the upcoming years. “It could be more valuable than ever,” the report notes.
Recommendations include raising the total annual immigration quota and boosting the number of visas available for high-tech foreign workers through the H-1B program.
Additionally, it advocates for extending visas that allow companies to employ foreign workers for seasonal roles.
The report highlights the need for these changes due to significant demographic shifts in the country, noting that a mix of high-tech H-1B workers, seasonal H-2B workers, and EB-5 investors, along with an overall increase in immigration entries, could positively impact the economy.
This strategy could also help address the demographic challenges posed by retiring baby boomers, who are contributing to a smaller workforce.
The study, co-authored by Richard Vedder, Matthew Denhart, and Stephen Moore, arrives amid Trump’s administration’s intensified focus on curbing illegal immigration by enhancing enforcement at the southern border.
Unleashed Prosperity, an organization founded with the involvement of Trump and economic adviser Moore, emphasizes the importance of discussing legal immigration expansion at this juncture.
“The research emerged because borders are secured. There’s a right way and a wrong way to migrate, and Americans want to support the right way,” Moore stated recently.
The report asserts that there is a clear need to increase legal immigration levels, backing this claim with various statistics:
- Working-age immigrants have a higher employment rate compared to native-born Americans—65% versus 60%.
- Immigration has driven half of the workforce growth over the last decade and now comprises a significant portion of the working-age population.
- Nearly half of the American Fortune 500 companies have immigrant founders or immigrant descendants.
- Three major American tech firms have leaders born outside the U.S., including Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet (Google), and Jensen Huang of Nvidia.
- Predictions show that all net workforce growth from 2020 to 2040 will stem from immigrant workers.
“Over the past ten years, immigration has accounted for nearly 40% of new job creation in America. It’s hard to argue this has hurt American workers, especially with unemployment rates remaining relatively low,” the report indicates.
Since 1994, the ratio of foreign-born workers in the labor force has nearly doubled, reaching 18.6% this year.
The findings also point out that the U.S. has outpaced Western Europe and Canada in terms of economic growth in recent decades.
The study discusses the decrease in fertility rates in the U.S., noting that while in the 1960s, families averaged fewer than two children, they now commonly have fewer than two, making international migration essential for population maintenance.
“Modern America was built by immigrants, transforming a vast, underdeveloped landscape into a nation characterized by wealth and achievement,” the report concludes.
It warns that without a steady influx of immigrants to replace the aging American population, achieving Trump’s economic growth target of 3% annually over the next decade may prove challenging.
