Washington Post: America’s immigration ‘dumping ground’ contributes to vibrancy and growth
media mention“Like Ross, Mr. Trump is right in the sense that immigrants — and here we assume Mr. Trump is referring to the illegal variety, though he doesn’t bother much with fine distinctions — are in rough circumstances compared with native-born Americans. On average they are less educated, less wealthy and less likely to become wealthy. They are also, according to a broad array of economists, a net positive for the economy today, as they have been for decades, contributing to its vibrancy and growth, and to the ability of employers to fill lower-wage jobs that most native-born Americans don’t want. They comprise more than 5 percent of the U.S. workforce and paid nearly $12 billion in state and local taxes in 2012, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Seventy percent of them hold jobs, a higher labor force participation rate than that of native-born Americans or the overall foreign-born population.”