Economics of Immigration

How does immigration help the economy? Immigrants make a significant impact on state and local economies. Learn more about the contributions immigrants make as workers, taxpayers and consumers.

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July 3, 2015

While the Fourth of July invokes excitement as many Americans prepare to spend time with family, attend parades and watch fireworks shows, 4,000 immigrants are participating in a different sort of...

June 18, 2015

With one of the highest growth rates for the immigrant population since 1990, there is mounting evidence that North Carolina’s immigrant population is a crucial contributor to the state’s economy...

June 17, 2015

The next poet laureate of the United States is Juan Felipe Herrera, the son of migrant farm workers. Herrera will be the first-ever Chicano poet laureate, signaling, as the Los Angeles Times put...

June 12, 2015

Immigration policy analysts released the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) results for the United States recently, including the survey’s implications for immigration and integration policy...

April 21, 2015

Undocumented immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy in many ways. They fill essential jobs, they sustain U.S. businesses through their purchase of goods and services, and they pay taxes to...

April 20, 2015

In cities and states across the country, there has been growing momentum towards building better immigrant and refugee integration programs . Yet there hasn’t been an official federal immigrant...

December 19, 2013

A recent settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of thousands of asylum seekers is removing obstacles they faced in obtaining work documents while they pursue their asylum...

September 21, 2011

Every year, thousands of people flee persecution in their home countries and seek safe haven in the United States. Many of them spend their entire savings on the journey, travel under life-...

February 12, 2010

Asylum applicants and their attorneys have long struggled to better understand how the employment authorization asylum clock (“EAD asylum clock”) functions. The clock, which measures the number of...

September 23, 2018
The Trump administration is proposing sweeping new regulations that could lead to the largest decline in legal immigration in generations. The new regulations propose to redefine the meaning of the legal term “public charge."
September 20, 2018

Every year, the Census Bureau releases new data from its American Community Survey (ACS), which contains a wealth of information about the characteristics of the U.S. population. Without fail,...

August 29, 2018

The power of the U.S. workforce is that both native- and foreign-born workers complement one another with different and equally needed skill sets. They cannot simply be substituted for one another...

August 14, 2018

America’s generosity is reflected in our immigration system. Throughout our nation’s history (with some shameful exceptions), we have allowed individuals to come to the United States to reunite...

June 28, 2018

The Trump administration is quietly attempting to revamp the U.S. immigration system by circumventing Congress and changing the nation’s immigration policies through new federal regulations. The...

June 12, 2018

Migration based on family ties has long been the foundation of the U.S. immigration system. Yet lawmakers are proposing drastic cuts to family-based immigration in favor of immigrants who come to...

June 12, 2018
Through analysis of data from the decennial census and administrative data from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, this special report examines the earnings gains over time of all immigrants, as well as the earnings gains experienced by family-based immigrants compared to employment-based immigrants.
Publication Date: 
June 11, 2018
Some confusion exists regarding the economic aspects of family-based immigration. To help unpack those aspects, this report focuses on one of them—namely, the earnings of family-based immigrants.
June 5, 2018

June is Immigrant Heritage Month, and given the shrill and often negative rhetoric we hear around immigration, it seems more important than ever to take time to appreciate our immigration history...

May 22, 2018

When immigrants bring their skills to the U.S. labor market, everyone—immigrants and native-born workers alike—benefit from their company. Research has repeatedly shown that native-born workers...

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