With a Secure Border, Legal Immigration Will Boost the US Economy

Now that President Donald J. Trump is making good on his promises to secure the border and get rid of illegal migrants, a new study suggests improved legal immigration could be the key to an improved and stable economy.

According to the report, President Trump and Congress should approve new laws to boost legal immigration to strengthen the US economy and workforce in the coming decades, now that the border is secure.

“Immigrants are likely to be more valuable than ever in achieving higher economic growth over the next several decades,” according to analysis by the conservative leaning group Unleash Prosperity.

The report recommends increasing the overall quota for annual immigration entries and expanding visas for high-tech foreign workers via the H-1B visa program. It also calls for expanding visas that allow companies to hire foreigners for seasonal work.

“Due to profound demographic changes in the United States, expanding visas for programs ranging from high-tech H-1B workers to seasonal H-2B workers, to EB-5 investor immigrants, combined with an increase in the overall quota for annual immigrant entries will benefit the U.S. economy,” the study insisted.

The study, co-authored by Richard Vedder, Matthew Denhart, and Stephen Moore, comes as the Trump administration continues its successful crackdown on illegal immigration by tightening enforcement at the southern border and detaining and deporting illegal immigrants.

Unleashed Prosperity was co-founded by Moore, an economic adviser who helped craft President Trump’s and the GOP’s “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” of 2017, which expires at year’s end.

Other co-founders include Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media and former Republican candidate for president; economist Arthur Laffer and free market analyst Phil Kerpen.

The study received funding from heavy hitters, including Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, who died over the weekend at age 80, the company said.

Moore praised the Trump administration’s actions that have ended massive border jumping and illegal immigration, making it timely to talk about expanding legal immigration.

“The reason why we did the study is the border is secure. There’s a right way and a wrong way to do immigration. Americans will be supportive of doing it the right way,” he said, speaking to the NY Post.

Data in the report suggested how improved legal immigration will counter the demographic cycle of fewer young Americans entering the workforce and more Baby Boomers retiring and exiting the workforce.

“Over the past decade, immigrants have filled nearly 40% of the new jobs in America. It would be hard to argue this has displaced Americans from jobs because the unemployment rate has remained relatively low,” the authors said.

Since 1994, the proportion of foreign-born workers in the labor force nearly doubled to 18.6% in 2023.

In recent decades, the US has had higher economic growth rates than Western Europe and Canada, the report said.

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