The two common narratives on immigration are the villain narrative, which focuses on immigrants hurting society by stealing jobs and posing security threats, and the victim narrative, which emphasizes the benefits of immigration for immigrants but fails to highlight the positive impact on society. The key argument missing is the truth about how immigrants contribute economically and socially, despite overwhelming evidence showing net positive benefits, such as higher economic mobility for immigrant children, a significant number of Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants or their children, and immigrants playing a substantial role in US patents.
The U.S. immigration system is a massively complicated machine, with a lot of worn-out parts. How to fix it? Step one: Get hold of some actual facts and evidence. (We did this step for you.) (Part two of a three-part series.)
- RESOURCES:
- The Truth About Immigration: Why Successful Societies Welcome Newcomers, by Zeke Hernandez (2024, available for pre-order).
- "Illegal Immigration Is a Bigger Problem Than Ever. These Five Charts Explain Why," by Andrew Mollica, Alicia A. Caldwell, Michelle Hackman, and Santiago Pérez (The Wall Street Journal, 2023).
- Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream, by David Leonhardt (2023).
- The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2017).