Question

Should the U.S. control immigration of people into the country -- discuss the economic PROS and CONS.

Answer 1

US immigration policy is highly controversial. Most of the debate centers around the economic impacts, security risks, and humanitarian concerns. As a result, U.S. immigration policy is a hodge-podge of laws, court decisions, and executive orders.That allows each president to change policies without Congress.In 2018, there were 44.7 million immigrants in the United States. That's more than any other country in the world.Including immigrants' U.S. born children, who are U.S. citizens, takes the number up to 61 million immigrants and their families. That's 20% of all U.S. residents.One-fourth of U.S. immigrants are from Mexico.Another 6% are from China, 6% from India, 5% from the Phillippines, and 3% from El Salvador. Those sources are changing. Of the 1 million immigrants who arrived in 2017, India supplied 13%. Another 12% were from Mexico, 1Most immigrants are citizens, but many are here without documents. The United States also accepts refugees and those who show up at the border to apply for asylum. Here are the facts around America’s immigrants, and how they affect the U.S. economy and you.2% from China, and 4% from Cuba.

According to the National Academy of Sciences, “immigration is integral to the nation’s economic growth.” That is partially because the U.S. workforce is getting older, which makes the arrival of tax-paying, job-creating, and business-starting newcomers an economic necessity. The report also found that there is “little evidence that immigration significantly affects the overall employment levels of native-born workers.”Trump’s hard line on undocumented immigrants has always been wrapped in the assumption that they’ll take jobs from American citizens. On the surface, this seems like a pretty logical conclusion for a cohort that represents nearly 11 million people. But immigration advocates say this argument ignores the dynamic nature of the job market.First, it’s important to recognize that immigrants aren’t just workers—they’re also consumers who buy goods and services. Some researchers believe mass deportation would therefore shrink overall economic output. An analysis by New American Economy, a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration policy, concludes that such a policy would result in a $1.6 trillion reduction in GDP.

The future growth prospects of the U.S. economy are severely constrained by a lack of working-age population growth,” the non-partisan Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED) wrote in a 2018 policy brief. “Fewer workers means less output without increases in productivity so large as to be highly unlikely.Because roughly half the immigrants from Latin America are between the ages of 18 and 35, the United States doesn’t have to shoulder the cost of their schooling. Bringing in even 100,000 of these immigrants annually would represent an injection of human capital that would otherwise cost us $47 billion in education and childcare costs, says CED.A comprehensive “deal” subjects the fate of policies with universal appeal to the fate of the most controversial topics. The key is to begin by working on the solutions on which most Americans agree.We must and can address this issue in a manner that is fair, responsible, humane, and prudent. This is too important an issue to not get right and too important an issue to be driven by partisan agendas. Let’s stay focused on what is best for the welfare of all Americans, both those of today and those of the future.