The White House Reports on Benefits of Immigration Reform

The Executive Office of the President recently released a report detailing the benefits comprehensive immigration reform will have on the U.S. economy. With the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, S-744, now in the House of Representatives, the benefits of the bill must not go unnoticed.

According the White House report, S-744 will benefit the economy in four main ways:

1. Strengthening the overall economy and growing U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The immigration bill will result in a larger labor force, higher productivity and investment, and an increase in industries such as technology, tourism, hospitality, agriculture, and housing. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that this growth will increase real GDP in 10 years by 3.3 percent more than current projections, and by 5.4 percent more in 20 years. This growth amounts to approximately $700 billion more in 10 years and $1.4 trillion in 20 years.

2. Encouraging job creation and job growth. The bill allows for an increase in immigration of highly-skilled and educated workers. Studies have shown that these immigrants are highly entrepreneurial and the increase in their immigration to the U.S. would lead to the formation of more business that create jobs for Americans. Additionally, S-744 creates more temporary and permanent visa options for entrepreneurial immigrants and investors, which would also lead to an increase in job creation.
3. Protects American workers and increases job productivity. The entrepreneurial immigrants that will have options in the U.S. under the bill are likely to create new inventions and companies which will increase productivity of existing U.S. production processes. Furthermore, the law allows undocumented workers to get on a path to legalization. Undocumented workers negatively impact wages and working conditions for Americans. Allowing these workers to work lawfully will help end these practices.
4. Decreases budget deficits and strengthens Social Security. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the immigration bill will decrease the federal budget deficit by almost $850 billion over the next 20 years. Additionally, the Social Security Administration has determined that immigration reform will add younger workers to the work force. This would improve Social Security by $300 billion and thus extend solvency by two years.

For more information on the benefits of comprehensive immigration reform, please see the White House Report.