Do Immigrants Make Us Poor? The Evidence Suggests Otherwise

Our President has declared that immigrants steal Americans’ jobs and social services and thereby make us poorer. It’s one of the reasons the status of nearly 700,000 DREAMers hangs in the balance as they await a critical Supreme Court decision.

This treatment of immigrants is nothing new. When President Trump refers to immigrants as “thugs” or “animals” he is following a long-line of rhetoric dating back centuries designed to stir our emotional fear and loathing of those who are unlike ourselves. But emotions aside, what impact do immigrants actually have on our economy and our society? Data suggests that, rather than hurting our economy, they may actually improve it.

You’ve probably heard of Gross Domestic Product, or GDP. It is an imperfect but convenient indicator of the total wealth of our nation. While doing research for a talk at the Ethical Society of Northern Westchester (ESNW) last month, I noticed something interesting. There is a relation between our population size and our prosperity. We’ve been told for many years that the world is becoming overpopulated, so you might expect a larger population to make us poorer—fewer goods and services to be shared among more people. But in fact, GDP increases with population, not only in the U.S. but even in poor, overpopulated nations like Bangladesh.

The reason for this counterintuitive finding is that, in the U.S., the largest source of our GDP by far (68%) derives from consumer spending—the dollars you and I spend. The more consumers spend, the more jobs are created to provide us with more goods and services. So, a larger population actually leads to more wealth.

We are the third largest nation (after China and India) with 330 million people, so it would seem like a good idea for us to maintain this population in order to compete with China and other nations. But we can’t seem to maintain our population on our own. Our fertility rate, about 1.8 children per woman, is below replacement rate (about 2.1). Yet our population continues to grow. And immigration is a big part of that growth—the growth that leads to more wealth.

How far should we grow? Surely, there must be limits. The European Union has a population of about half a billion people, a total land area little more than half that of the lower 48 states and a population density of 116 persons per square kilometer. Even if we were to increase our population by over 50 percent, our population density would still only be about 62 persons per square kilometer. But it will be difficult to reach these levels unless we make it easier for immigrants to enter the country.

But aren’t immigrants violent criminals? Not really. A study by the Cato Institute in Texas, where laws against illegal immigrants are firmly enforced, found that the conviction rates for illegal immigrants for all crimes was below that of native-born Americans. And conviction rates for legal immigrants were lower than those for native-born Americans. Other studies have shown no increase in crime rates among undocumented immigrants.

But don’t immigrants cash in on our social welfare without contributing to the economy? In a 2016 study, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reported that undocumented immigrants contribute significantly to state and local taxes, collectively paying an estimated $11.64 billion a year. And Time Magazine indicated that the Social Security Administration (in 2010) reported $13 billion in payroll taxes paid by undocumented immigrants who received $1 billion in benefits.

Beyond the simple economics of the situation, allowing more immigrants in to this country is simply the right thing to do. As a member of Ethical Culture, a non-theistic religion of ethics founded in 1876 and espoused by the American Ethical Union (AEU), we not only violate the tenets of morality when we make it more difficult for asylum seekers to enter our country, we also negatively impact the future our children face by willingly stifling our nation’s economic growth.

The Trump Administration may think it’s helping our economy with its restrictions on immigration, but it may actually be doing significant harm. The facts and data are clear: Immigrants make for a healthier society. In the past, our excellent universities and more hospitable immigration and visitor policies attracted the best and brightest from around the world to come to the U.S.—to expand our science, build businesses and enrich our knowledge, our culture and our economy. It’s time to end these limiting and xenophobic policies – for the sake of our moral and economic well-being.

Milton Steinberg is a Professor Emeritus at Marymount College at Fordham University, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Ethical Culture Society of Northern Westchester in Ossining, NY.