23 MAR 2023
ICYMI: White House Economic Report Recommends Immigration Reform as Key to Addressing Labor Shortages and Spurring Increased Growth
Council of Economic Advisors: “Immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented individuals would help to increase the labor supply.”
WASHINGTON, DC – Earlier this week, Reuters covered a report by the top economic advisors of the Biden administration that emphasized the dire need for immigration reform to bolster the country’s long-term economic prospects and relieve labor shortages. As the report reminds us, “Immigration bans and closed borders halted the flow of foreign-born workers who were critical for many industries.”
The reporter further details that increasing immigration would allow the United States to mitigate the consequences of shrinking labor participation, an aging population, and labor demands in critical industries by adding a new pool of skilled workers to bolster innovation and technological change. The report’s research indicates that newly-arrived immigrants have a minimal impact on wages and domestic employment while bringing significant fiscal benefits nationwide.
Additionally, the report concludes that providing a pathway to citizenship for the approximately 11 million undocumented individuals, including Dreamers, TPS holders, farmworkers and more, would drastically expand the employment opportunities for this population of potential laborers who already live and are a part of our communities. This opportunity comes at a critical time where local leaders from both parties are calling for immigration solutions to meet the labordemands in their states.
In case you missed it…
Reuters | More immigrants, paid childcare key to economic growth, White House says
“Boosting immigration and public spending on childcare could help cover a large shortfall in the U.S. labor supply that threatens to curtail economic growth in coming years, a new report by President Joe Biden's top economic advisers concludes.”
“Allowing more immigrants to enter the United States, and legalizing the status of 11 million people already in the country without authorization to work, would offset the aging demographics and boost innovation, without a big impact on the wages and employment of the existing population,”
“The Administration believed that potential real GDP growth in the long run would be modestly higher because of the expected effect of the President’s proposed economicpolicies, assuming that they are enacted, including a range of programs to enhance human capital formation, provide childcare, and reform immigration policy.”
“Much of this expected growth [in the labor force] will likely come from immigration.”
“Unless efforts are undertaken to mitigate the impact of demographic change—by drawing more adults into the labor market and/or increasing immigration flows—the labor supply is likely to be constrained for the foreseeable future.”
“The vast majority of near-term working-age population growth will be accounted for by immigrants and their descendants born in the United States.”
“Immigration increases potential output by increasing the size of the labor force; because new immigrants are typically working age, it also lessens the effect of the aging population on per capita economic growth. Immigrants also make other important contributions to the U.S. economy. For example, given that they often have fewer long-standing family and social ties, they are more mobile than workers born in the country and are more responsive to local economic conditions.”
“There is also a potential pool of laborers already residing in the United States without legal authorization to work and/or a path to citizenship. Legal permanent residence would expand the employment opportunities for a significant portion of this population. As such, immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented individuals would help to increase the labor supply.”
“Additional immigration reforms could include removing per-country caps on employment, expanding diversity lottery visas, and expanding the J-1 exchange visa program, which would bring additional faculty, scientists, and students to the United States for training and sharing knowledge and methods.”
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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigrationpolicies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.