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The Real Crisis Is an Immigrant Deficit
Contrary to what many believe, we don’t have enough immigrants coming into the country
Listening to the popular media lately, you might conclude that we have an enormous and unprecedented migration crisis at our borders. It’s true, we have regular waves of migrants approaching our border, which include migrant caravans and asylum seekers. But these dynamics have evolved over the decades since the United States began making it more difficult for migrant workers to enter the country, while U.S. companies continued to nurture their desire for cheap labor—and happily employed undocumented immigrants to do it. Many migrants are fleeing violence and persecution in their native countries, too. They’re humans in need. Generally, they would prefer not to have left their own countries in the first place. That crisis is theirs then, not ours. We have nothing to fear from these migrants.
We do, however, have a crisis on our hands, but you might not hear it discussed in breathless, heated segments on your cable TV channel of choice. Because the real crisis is that we currently don’t have enough immigrants coming into the country.
Let’s look at a few factors, which have contributed to this situation.
Lower Birth Rates
Recently, the birth rate in the United States has been in decline. In fact, it was measured in 2020 to be at the lowest rate ever. It fell 20% since 2007, when, arguably, it was prompted by the recession, but as this University of Maryland and Wellesley College study points out, no single factor can explain the decline, though some possible factors include shifting priorities among young adults and recent generations of women waiting to have children at a later age. The study concluded that “absent increased immigration,” we would likely see “a smaller workforce and an older population.” “In general,” the authors continued, “a smaller workforce and an aging population would have negative implications for economic productivity and per capita income growth.” We should note that birth rates fell further during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, too.
