How Has Immigration Affected the Population of the America?

Immigration Affected the Population of the America

The America population is becoming more diverse as more racial and ethnic groups settle in the United States. Between 2010 and 2019, the nation’s nonwhite racial or ethnic minority populations—including Latino or Hispanic, Asian American, and Black residents—grew faster than whites did. This was the first time this has happened since the nation began keeping track of racial and ethnic diversity through censuses.

Immigration is a large part of this change. According to the Current Population Survey (CPS), the most recent 5-year period, net migration plus births to immigrants accounted for 77 percent of the growth in the America population. This figure is up from 66 percent for the previous five-year period.

Despite the popular notion of immigration as “stealing” jobs from native-born Americans, many empirical studies indicate that this is not true. Instead, immigrant workers often take complementary jobs or expand economic demand by spending their wages on housing, food, and TVs. This generates more jobs in the production of those goods and services, which in turn increases economic output. Some of the money spent on these products is also returned in taxes to government agencies, including Social Security and Medicare.

How Has Immigration Affected the Population of the America?

But there are also negative impacts from immigration, particularly for low-skilled native-born workers. Research by Gaetano Basso and Giovanni Peri suggests that low-skilled migrants tend to spend more than their wages, which can lead to a decline in the quality of local labor markets. In addition, lower-income immigrants are more likely to receive federal welfare programs, such as SNAP and Medicaid, than comparable low income natives, which imposes higher overall costs on the federal budget.

In contrast, the college-educated population is more likely to be a net contributor to the economy because they have higher wages and are less likely to use public assistance. Moreover, they have higher productivity levels than native-born Americans, which can boost overall economic performance.

Despite these economic benefits, the influx of immigrants may be a source of political controversy. Many Americans are worried that immigrants are taking away jobs from Americans, especially blue-collar jobs that are most in need of an infusion of new workers. However, a study by researchers at the University of Maryland and the Rand Corporation finds that high-skilled migrants are less likely to replace blue-collar workers than they are to reduce their wages, although this effect is less clear for low-skilled workers.

In the long run, these gains from immigration are expected to offset any losses in employment and wages for the country’s blue-collar workforce. It is still too early to know whether these changes in the composition of the labor force will have any impact on overall economic growth. But it is an important factor to keep in mind as the nation considers future policies to stimulate the economy.