In an effort to break the paralysis on immigration reform in Congress and to create an expanded menu of policy options for the incoming Biden administration, a number of groups are putting forth bold new ideas to enrich the discussion on immigration policy. One such group is the Niskanen Center, a Washington-based think tank that […]
Archive | General Research
Report weighs the opportunities for, and obstacles to, achieving fundamental reform of the nation’s immigration system in the new Biden administration
Though the Biden campaign promised in 2020 to reverse course on the Trump administration’s restrictive immigration policies and to overhaul the existing legislative framework, challenges at many stages of policy implementation will make these goals difficult to achieve. “At the Starting Gate: The Incoming Biden Administration’s Immigration Plans,” published by the Migration Policy Institute, outlines […]
NBER researchers find that immigrant entrepreneurs outperform U.S.-born entrepreneurs in the vital area of job creation
In assessing the impact of immigration on the U.S. economy, this paper seeks to explore and quantify the often overlooked process of immigrant job creation Too often, according to the authors, economists only examine the extent to which immigrant workers displace native-born workers. Researchers often reach conclusions that fail to take into consideration the broader […]
Arguing that the work of immigrant entrepreneurs will be crucial to the nation’s recovery from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, New American Economy and Bloomberg Philanthropies produce a “toolkit” to guide local leaders in implementing measures to support immigrant entrepreneurs
Immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs were vital to the recovery of regional economies in past recessions, especially after the Great Recession. In Toolkit: Supporting Immigrant & Refugee Entrepreneurs, a report by Bloomberg Associates and the New American Economy, the authors argue that promoting immigrant entrepreneurship will be crucial to helping local economies recover from the economic impact of the […]
Will the Trump Administration’s Efforts to Scale Back Immigration through Administrative Means Harm Future Economic Growth?
As aging native-born workers leave the labor force, the growth of the U.S. workforce and economy has increasingly depended on immigrant workers. More than 50 percent of U.S. workforce growth over the past 20 years has come from immigrants and their children. This report from NFAP estimates that by 2021 Trump administration changes in long-standing […]
NBER study finds that access to skilled H-1B immigrant workers greatly improves the economic performance of start-up firms
Proponents of increased high-skilled immigration in the U.S. often argue these workers help meet a shortage of skilled labor and promote innovation and productivity. Those opposed claim that high-skilled immigrant workers merely displace native-born workers. Despite much debate there is only limited evidence, however, of the impact of high-skilled immigration on companies’ bottom lines. In […]
Have We Mismanaged the Southern Border? CMS Paper Argues that the Problem Goes Back to the Obama Administration
In this essay, author Rena Cutlip-Mason reviews the U.S. government’s response to the influx of immigrants from the Central American “Northern Triangle” countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala between 2011-2016. The paper critiques the Trump administration’s “extreme border policies,” while also faulting the Obama administration for failing to deal effectively with the root causes […]