President Trump and his allies continue to assail immigrants and perpetuate the myth that U.S. immigration is inherently detrimental to the health of the economy and society at large. From wage depletion and unfair job competition to violent crime and acts of terror, Trump's “America First” mantra turns on the narrative that all immigrants are antithetical to Americans' well-being.
The academic literature on the impact of immigration is clear: immigrants help — not harm — the U.S. economy as a whole and commit crimes at lower levels than do native-born Americans. But the impacts of immigration in communities across the country gets muddled; some Americans don't see the positive benefits of immigration. While it's accurate that more than half of America's billion-dollar startups have an immigrant founder, the truth is that an economy is more than just the Fortune 500.
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