The Federal Reserve Finds Immigration Is Boosting the American Economy

The Federal Reserve of the United States, the bipartisan central bank chaired by a Republican appointed by Donald Trump, reports that the recent surge of immigration is boosting the American economy and is not contributing to inflation. The leading American business organization, the Chamber of Commerce, has long argued that the excessively restrictive policy on migrants, based on nativism from several decades ago, has contributed to the labor shortage, with the unemployment rate remaining near the 4% rate of full employment, which is one of the contributing causes of inflation. The excessive restrictions incentivize irregular (legal, but unauthorized; or illegal) migration, such as refugees seeking asylum from persecution, because there are insufficient regular pathways for immigrants or migrant workers. Refugees are legally permitted to enter if they have a credible fear of persecution, either at ports of entry, as preferred, or wherever they can, to save their lives or liberty. A good example is Cubans sailing on boats to Florida to escape Communism. Nativists make false claims that refugees have entered “illegally,” that the borders are “open,” and the professional media also often erroneously reports that they have, and that migrants are damaging to the economy and commit a higher share of crime. But conservatives, especially since Ronald Reagan, who proudly observed the contrast of people risking their lives to flee tyrannical regimes and risking their lives to come to America, have favored immigration, and, like the Founding Generation, have favored allowing refugees to live in freedom, as they have a greater appreciation of liberty because of having suffered under tyranny. The U.S. does not admit nearly enough migrants legally to satisfy the demand of American employers. A mass deportation of migrants, which would cost tens of billions of dollars, including many who have lived in America without posing any threat or committing crimes, would exacerbate the labor shortage and cause inflation to skyrocket, particularly for some industries, like agriculture. Furthermore, families would either be split up or forced to emigrate. In short, none of the justifications claimed by xenophobes about migrants are true and implementing even more nativist policies than already exist would not solve the problems blamed on migrants and cause far more problems instead.