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- The total number of immigrants per year (including
illegal immigrants and
refugees) nowadays is somewhat less than it was in the peak years at the beginning of the 20th century when U.S. population
was less than half as large as it now is.
- Immigrants do not cause native unemployment, even among
low-paid
or minority groups. A spate of respected recent studies,using a variety of methods, agrees that "there is no empirical evidence
documenting that the displacement effect [of natives from jobs] is numerically important" (Borjas 1990, 92). The
explanation
is that new entrants not only take jobs, they make jobs. The jobs they create with their purchasing power, and with the new
businesses which they start, are at least as numerous as the jobs which immigrants fill.
- Within three to five
years after entry, immigrant family earnings reached and surpassed earnings of the average native family (as of 1976); this
catch-up is due largely to the youthful non- retired age composition of immigrant families. The average
native family paid
$3,008 in taxes in 1975. In comparison,immigrant families in the United States 10 years paid $3,369, those here 11-15 years
paid $3,564, and those here 16-25 years paid $3,592. All the cohorts' payments substantially surpassed
natives' payments.
(Published by the Cato Institute and the National Immigration Forum)
- Immigration has a modest but positive effect
on the U.S. economy, according toAmerican Demographics, adding about $10 billion a year to America's economic output. Even
more important is the contribution immigrants and their children make just by being here to provide workers and leaders for
the future. If today's immigration totals hold steady, it will account for about two-thirds of U.S. population growth over
the next 50 years. (From Ethnic Harvest Ministry Resources)
- Immigrants pay taxes, in the form of income, property,
sales, and taxes at the federal and state level. As far as income tax payments go, sources vary in their accounts, but a range
of studies find that immigrants pay between $90 and $140 billion a year in federal, state, and local taxes. Undocumented immigrants
pay income taxes as well, as evidenced by the Social Security Administrations suspense file (taxes that cannot be matched
to workers names and social security numbers), which grew by $20 billion between 1990 and 1998. (Source: http://www.immigrationforum.org/about
/articles/
tax_study.htm) - During the 1990s, half of all new workers were foreign-born, filling gaps left by native-born workers
in both the high- and low-skill ends of the spectrum. Immigrants fill jobs in key sectors, start their own businesses, and
contribute to a thriving economy. The net benefit of immigration to the U.S. is nearly $10 billion annually. As Alan Greenspan
points out, 70% of immigrants arrive in prime working age. That means we havent spent a penny on their education, yet they
are transplanted into our workforce and will contribute $500 billion toward our social security system over the next 20 years
(Source:
Andrew Sum, Mykhaylo Trubskyy, Ishwar Khatiwada, et al., Immigrant Workers in the New England Labor Market: Implications for
Workforce Development Policy, Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University, Boston, Prepared for the New England
Regional Office, the Employment and Training Administration, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Boston, Massachusetts, October
2002
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