The Harder Fix on Immigration Is About More than Skills. It’s been five years since we seriously attempted to reform U.S. immigration policy.
Since then, partisan politics and extremist views have hijacked any sensibility on the topic, both in Congress and in many states and communities across the country. Five years ago, the Great Recession and housing crisis hadn’t yet wreaked economic havoc, crushing businesses, swelling unemployment, and threatening millions of homeowners. Back then, we had a lot less to worry about. Reflecting those dramatic changes, immigration to the United States has slowed, but bitter immigration debates continue as economic anxiety grows. FAIR: Federation for American Immigration Reform. Analysis: Immigration reform could boost U.S. economic growth. How Immigration Reform Could Help Fix Our Economy. Mexican immigrant Roberto Garcia, center, and son Alan, left, look at wrist watches while shopping in Los Angeles, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013.
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) If you’re worried about the economy, you should also be worried about the fate of immigration reform. According to this 2010 analysis by The Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project, the idea that immigrants are a drag on the economy — a belief shared by many Americans – is simply incorrect. Immigrants coming to America are split between those who are highly educated and those who arrive without a high school diploma.