THE FORUM DAILY
The country’s economic rebound from the pandemic is thanks largely to immigrants who continue bolstering the U.S. job market, report Rachel Siegel, Lauren Kaori Gurley and Meryl Kornfield of The Washington Post.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, about 50% of the labor market’s growth between January 2023 and January 2024 came from foreign-born labor.
"Immigration has not slowed," said Pia Orrenius, vice president and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. " ... And that’s been instrumental. You can’t grow like this with just the native workforce. It’s not possible."
Newcomers are eager to work. "More than any immigration policy per se, the biggest pull for migrants is the strength of the labor market," said Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes, an economics professor at the University of California at Merced.
Hans Nichols and Stef W. Kight of Axios report that foreign-born workers now constitute nearly 19% of the labor force and will be largely responsible for anticipated growth of 1.7 million workers this year. New arrivals, they report, "will help the U.S. economy grow by about $7 trillion over the next decade."
And most economists cite another benefit. "It is unquestionable that the expanse of immigration has been important to bringing inflation down," said Betsey Stevenson of the University of Michigan.
Marcela García of the Boston Globe has been writing about whether such data can persuade naysayers. "[W]e still have this moderate majority that wants a safe, humane, and orderly process," Jennie says in García’s latest.
Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Isabella Miller, Darika Verdugo and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
LIVING IN LIMBO — Sisters Julia and Elena in Idaho — names changed to protect their identities — are feeling the limited and fragmented state of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) acutely, reports Monica Carrillo-Casas of the Times-News in Twin Falls. Julia has DACA, but Elena’s application has been on hold since
2017. "I've always felt like I have a subscription to the United States," Julia said. "That's what it is. I have a subscription. And one day it might be canceled; it might not."
STATE PROPOSALS — Last week, the Arizona House passed a bill that would "let ranchers in southern Arizona legally shoot and kill undocumented immigrants who cross their land," Leah Britton reports in the Arizona Mirror. A veto is expected should the bill make it to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D). Meanwhile, in Alabama, a bill that would void some out-of-state driver’s licenses for immigrants passed the
state Senate, reports Alander Rocha for the Alabama Reflector.
BUDGETING — Nearly a year ago the Biden administration directed asylum officers to apply a higher screening standard to asylum claims. However, budget constraints and understaffing have limited the impact, reports Elliot Spagat of the Associated Press. The challenges are likely to continue: Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s budget faces a $700 million funding gap after border and immigration provisions were
dropped from the Senate spending package this month, Spagat notes.
STABILITY — UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, is vital amid historically high levels of global displacement and especially as the war in Ukraine continues, Max Boot highlights in his Washington Post column. He notes the importance of continued U.S. support for global stability and addressing refugee crises. Separately, Rogelio Mares of FOX 31 reports that as the Ukraine war continues, Ukrainian high school student Tymur Minzianov in Superior, Colorado, faces uncertainty about his and his family's future in the U.S.
|
