Economics of Immigration

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

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All Economics of Immigration Content

Publication Date: 
May 1, 2005
Given the extent to which undocumented immigrants already living in the United States are part of U.S.-based families, comprehensive immigration reform must include more than just a new temporary...
Publication Date: 
March 1, 2005
Successive generations of African immigration have continuously transformed the African American community and the sociopolitical climate of the United States.
Publication Date: 
March 1, 2005
An analysis of data from the 2000 census reveals that employment in about one-third of all U.S. job categories would have contracted during the 1990s in the absence of recently arrived, noncitizen...
Publication Date: 
September 1, 2004
Immigrants and the children of immigrants are prominent among the athletes representing the United States in the 2004 Olympics. The stories of these immigrant athletes offer a vivid glimpse of the...
Publication Date: 
August 1, 2004
Foreign-born scientists and engineers (S&Es) have long played a prominent role in U.S. technological and scientific advancement and are a critical part of the science and engineering (S&E)...
Publication Date: 
May 1, 2004
According to a recent National Science Board report, restrictive U.S. visa policies are beginning to close the door to highly skilled foreign professionals who have long helped maintain U.S...
Publication Date: 
February 1, 2004
Foreign-born and foreign-trained professionals play an important role in the delivery of health care in the United States. This report examines the important role of immigrant doctors and nurses –...
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November 1, 2003
Comparisons of the mostly “minority” foreign-born and mostly “white” native-born populations that fail to account for the socioeconomic impact of ethnicity incorrectly suggest that place of birth,...
Publication Date: 
October 1, 2003
Latinos experience substantial socioeconomic progress across generations compared to both their immigrant forefathers and native Anglos. But this fact is lost in statistical portraits of the Latino...
Publication Date: 
July 1, 2003
Policymakers in states from Iowa to Utah and in cities from Albuquerque to Boston have realized that immigration is a key source of long-term economic vitality, particularly in urban areas...
July 3, 2017

Along with the annual fireworks and family gatherings to mark the Fourth of July, 15,000 new citizens will be sworn in around the country and take the oath of citizenship. U.S. Citizenship and...

June 28, 2017

Despite being among some of the most vulnerable, children seeking asylum in the United States often fare the worst. Upon entering the United States, children are often detained for extended...

June 23, 2017

The American Immigration Council is proud to announce the winner of the 20th Annual Celebrate America Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest. This contest encourages educators to incorporate lessons...

June 16, 2017

Refugee resettlement has long been a cornerstone of United States foreign policy, but in the first weeks of the Trump administration, the president attempted to suspend the decades-long program in...

June 2, 2017

Since the reintroduction of family detention under the Obama administration, abuse of the mothers and children held in these facilities has run rampant. The family detention scheme has grown...

June 1, 2017

As the legislative session in Texas drew to a close on Monday, immigration advocates around the country celebrated the death of the “baby jails” bill—a measure that would have licensed Texas...

May 19, 2017

California is once again taking a lead on protecting and integrating its immigrant communities and standing up to the enforcement policies of the Trump administration. The state’s governor and...

April 28, 2017

The fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative has left 1.3 million undocumented immigrant youth in limbo. President Trump has assured DACA recipients that they can “rest...

April 17, 2017

Each year, undocumented immigrants file their tax returns, just like all Americans. They pay federal, state, and local taxes, in addition to income, property, and sales taxes. However, there are...

March 3, 2017

President Trump made many promises on the campaign trail. One of which was to breathe new life into what some see as a stagnant U.S. economy. In fact, there are indications that it was this one...

April 22, 2019

Attending a four-year public college or university is out of reach for many students without U.S. citizenship. But thanks to a growing number of new state laws—which make certain students eligible...

April 15, 2019

The survival of the nation’s Social Security system depends upon the taxes paid by each new generation of workers. As older workers enter retirement and draw upon Social Security, the continued...

March 19, 2019

The Trump administration is set to issue a proposed rule that would prevent the spouses of certain high-skilled temporary foreign workers from getting jobs while they are in the United States. The...

January 15, 2019

Small and rural towns across America are increasingly faced with the opportunities and challenges that come with settling new immigrants. In nearly 3,000 rural American towns, the immigrant...

Publication Date: 
January 9, 2019
This fact sheet estimates the likely numbers of workers with TPS from these three countries, broken down by the states in which they reside and the industries in which they are employed.
December 6, 2018

Advocates of immigrant rights decry working in what feels like the age of the fact-free debate. A debate driven in large part by leaders willing to cherry-pick facts on immigration that encourage...

November 27, 2018

States and localities continue exploring policies and positions on immigration to serve the needs of their communities and, at times, respond to the aggressive immigration agenda touted by the...

November 21, 2018

“What if this is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb?” asked Valerie Kaur in her famed “Sikh Prayer for America.” In this prayer, she contemplates an America that is not on...

November 12, 2018

The United States Armed Forces has done some of its greatest work when it has dismantled barriers to service and opened its ranks to Americans of different backgrounds and identities. Inclusivity...

November 8, 2018

Jeff Sessions resigned as Attorney General on Wednesday, less than two years after the Senate narrowly confirmed him to the post. Sessions’ tenure as the nation’s highest-ranking law enforcement...

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