Contribution of Immigrants to The U.S. Economy

Over the past week-end it was hard not to see or hear about the approximately 2,000 protests against the Trump Administration, and President Donald J. Trump’s immigration policy, as well other questionable policies.

I saw some statistics that were an eye opener. First, 1 in 5 of the U.S. population is of Latino roots. That is 20% of the population or over 60 million folks. To confirm this, I looked to the 2022 U.S. Census Bureau’s population data.

In 2022, the estimated population of the United States was 333 million. Of that, approximately 64 million were of Latino ethnicity, or almost 20%. Those considered black totaled approximately 42 million (12.6%), and white, 196 million (59.8%). Other ethnicities accounted for the balance. Since 2010, the Latino population has been increasing and the white population decreasing.

Undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are estimated to be between 10 and 12 million. Of that number, approximately 4 million are from Mexico, per the Pew Research Center. Another 2.6 million are from the Countries of El Salvador, India, Guatemala and Honduras.

There was a program called Temporary Protective Status (TPS), that allowed immigrants up to 2 years of temporary residency in the U.S., if they qualified. They had to be from Countries where there was political or civil unrest and they had to meet certain standards. There are approximately 800,000 in this category and they are included in the 10 to 12 million. Most are from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti. Recently the Trump Administration has started to eliminate this program, and has begun efforts to deport most, if not all of these folks. It should be noted that they were permitted to hold jobs while in the U.S. Now those positions will be vacant.

Another category included in the undocumented are the Dreamers. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was implemented by President Obama during his administration. There are approximately 800,000 + in this category. Over half are from Mexico.

There were strict rules concerning who was qualified for this program.

Some of those rules included: being under the age of 21 as of June 15, 2012, you must have arrived in the U.S. before your 16th birthday, had to physically in the U.S. as of June 15, 2012, be currently enrolled in school or have graduated from high school or have received a G.E.D., have not had a felony or significant misdemeanor conviction, or have been a honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. armed forces or U.S. Coast Guard.

Many of these individuals have now graduated from college, and have significant positions in our society. However, their immigration status remains undecided.

Of the 10-12 million undocumented, over 8 million hold jobs in the U.S. and are contributing positively to the economy and pay taxes.

Americans have mixed views on deportation of undocumented immigrants. In a Pew Research Center study, over 32% of those surveyed felt that those that are undocumented should be deported, no matter what. Also, 59% of those surveyed indicated that they approve of President Trump’s policy to deport all who are here illegally, no matter what.

However, another Pew Research Center report states that 64% of undocumented immigrants should be allowed to stay in this country legally, if they meet certain requirements.

As you can see there are inconsistencies between these reports. Who is correct? If the demonstrations throughout the country this past week-end are any barometer, there appears to be sentiment for allowing those undocumented to stay.

Another report indicates that if deportations were to continue, it is anticipated that food prices would increase significantly.

A recent article said that 40% of the farm workers in the United States are undocumented workers. In California, that number is 75%. There is an estimate of 255,000+ farm workers in California.

I have seen the large farms in California, and much of the work is still manual. If you drive west from Los Angeles to Ventura County on Hwy. 101, it appears to be one continual, produce producing farm. There are figures that indicate that this area produces over 40% of all produce produced in the U.S.

I think you can see the impact that deportation of these farm workers could have on the economy. There would be shortages of food, and increased prices. The old economic theory of “supply & demand,” alive and well.

Over the week-end, the realization of this finally sank in to the current administration, and President Trump is said to have told the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), to discontinue raids on farm workers, hospitality workers(hotels & restaurants) and meat packing firms.

However, they were also told to expand deportations in Democratic run cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

Right or wrong, undocumented immigrants have been integrated into our society, and our economy depends on them. They pay taxes, though they will receive no benefits in the future. The old axiom that they are taking jobs away from other U.S. citizens is just wrong. They are doing jobs that no one else wants.

Yes, there are criminals among them but it has been reported that their crime rate per 1,000 is lower than the general population. I don’t care who you are, if you commit a crime, you should be held accountable.

During President Ronald Regan’s term in office, “The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986” was passed and signed into law. This bill had two important components. The first was that any immigrant that had entered the U.S. illegally before 1982 was eligible for amnesty. The second was that tighter security was to be provided at the southern border and that employers were to be held accountable if they hired illegal immigrants.

At the time, there was an estimated 6 million illegal immigrants in the country, most from Mexico. Approximately 3 million took advantage of this program, and received amnesty and a way to citizenship. There are conflicted views of how effective this bill was. These primarily center around border security.

In 1984, President Regan said, “I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally.” A 1981 Newsweek article stated “that illegal immigrants provide a vital source of labor for the agricultural, manufacturing and restaurant industries.” That should sound familiar!

During President Obama’s term in office he proposed “immigration reform” but was unable to get any Republican support.

In the later days of the Biden Administration, a bi-partisan bill had been prepared that would have reformed immigration and foreign aid. It was called the “ Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act.” It basically provided for more border security as well as the hiring of more ICE and Border Patrol Agents and asylum officers and immigration judges. It also provided additional funding for Ukraine and Israel as well as funds to stop fentanyl and human trafficking.

This wasn’t a model for immigration reform but the beginning of a dialogue.

Donald Trump told the Republicans lawmakers not to vote for it, and they didn’t. Was it an end all? No, but a start.

It appears that neither the Republicans or the Democrats want to deal with immigration in a meaningful way. They both continue to “kick the can down the road!”

It is obvious that something needs to be done. Our economy is at risk as never before. Who will have the constitution to step up and meet the challenge? We cannot continue the way that we have done for the past 40 years.

Andrew Arthur, a resident fellow at the right leaning “Center for Immigration Studies” said to Newsweek, “Immigrants are absolutely crucial to the future health of our economy. They bring innovation, they bring labor, they bring capital, and, for that reason, a smart immigration policy is one that is humane, that is open, but that is also promised upon the good of the American people in order to continue to have the goodwill of the constituents for that policy.”

Amen!

Jess Sweely

Madison, Va.

June 16, 2025