These are some links and key points on the economics of immigration for a guest talk I’m giving to a class tomorrow.

• Ten Facts About Immigration (policy memo paper by The Hamilton Project, 2010)
  1. Today’s Immigrants Have More Diverse Backgrounds Than a Century Ago
  2. Immigrants Bring a Diverse Set of Skills and Backgrounds
  3. On Average Imigrants Improve the Living Standards of Existing Americans (possible exception of less-than-HS educated native Americans)
  4. Immigrants Are Not A Net Drain On The Federal Government Budget
  5. Immigration Enforcement Funding Has Increased Since 2003, # of Unauthorized Immigrants Increased 2003-2207, Declined Since
  6. Immigrants Are Incarcerated At Lower Rates Than U.S. Born – No Burden on Prisons
  7. Recent Immigrants Continue Long-Term Trend of Assimilation Into the Melting Pot
  8. Skill Composition of US Immigrants Different From Other Nations’ Experience (result of Policy)
  9. Immigrants Start New Businesses and File Patents At Higher Rates Than U.S. Born
  10. U.S. Is Issuing Declining # of High-Skill Visas
• Micro vs. Macro perspectives and the fallacy of composition
  • https://youtu.be/nQXD5Mhv5Q8
• Lump of Labor Fallacy  – Wikipedia Entry
• Immigrants, Even Unauthorized Ones Grow the Economy, They Don’t Steal Jobs  – NY Times
• Additional Links
  • http://stanfordpress.typepad.com/blog/2016/01/does-immigration-hurt-the-economy.html
  • https://blogs.lawrence.edu/economics/2016/01/the-continuing-debate-on-immigration-wages.html