Skip to main content

Demonizing and stoking fear of immigrants is at the center of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign this year, as it was in 2016. Yet what Americans should really be afraid of is Trump’s opposition to immigration. For immigrants make a huge contribution to our economy and our well-being, as they have for our entire history.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t focus our attention on creating a better, fairer immigration system. We should want immigrants to enter but in a controlled way. President Biden and Vice President Harris worked closely with Republicans in Congress to frame legislation to create a well-funded and regulated immigration process. But Donald Trump demanded that Republicans reject the plan because he cares more about dividing and distracting us by blaming and shaming immigrants instead of solving problems.

The truth is that people who have come to this country seeking a better life for their families or seeking asylum—as my grandparents did a hundred years ago—have made, and continue to make, major contributions to our country. It’s not easy to move here. People who come here brave terrible hardships and often threats of violence to do so. They bring their energy and ambition to our country, one that has always made a place for such people.

To see this, just look at their contributions to our own state of Pennsylvania.

Right now, 10% of Pennsylvania workers are immigrants. It’s well known that many work on farms and in construction. But they have a wide range of jobs. About 24% of college professors are immigrants; 30% of software developers are immigrants; and 26% of doctors are immigrants as well. Moreover, the ambitions and talents of immigrants lead them to become entrepreneurs; they account for 14% of all business owners and about 20% of businesses on our main streets.

All told, immigrants generate $100 billion of economic output in Pennsylvania alone, which is about equal to their share of the labor force. And they all pay taxes. Even undocumented immigrants pay sales and property taxes as well as federal income and payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare. Undocumented immigrants pay these taxes even though, contrary to what their critics say, they are not eligible to receive Social Security or Medicare. The taxes they pay more than make up for the cost of educating their children, most of whom are U.S. citizens.

And no, immigrants don’t take jobs from native-born Americans—this should be obvious when our unemployment rate is at an historic low. Rather, their contribution to our economy as consumers increases the total amount of jobs.

Nor do immigrants generate higher crime rates. Of course, some immigrants commit violent crimes and those that do should be deported. But the crime rate for immigrants is actually below that for native-born Americans.

What is especially strange about the right-wing attack on immigrants is that they are contributing to the solution of a problem often mentioned by J.D. Vance.

Vance worries about a decline in our population. We agree that a vibrant economy not only needs more people but a balance between children and seniors. The willingness of ambitious young people to come to our country and have children, and our willingness to accept them, gives the United States a huge advantage over other advanced countries. It is one reason we are growing faster than all the others.

And immigrants are also well on their way to solving another problem—ensuring the future of Social Security and Medicare. Without immigration, our population will age and the proportion of workers to retirees will shrink, reducing funding for these programs. But when people move here, they provide the younger workers that will ensure that all of us who are aging will receive Social Security and Medicare benefits.

If we care about the future of the United States, we will reject Donald Trump’s divisive and hateful rhetoric. We will join together and take steps to control our border while providing a path to citizenship for immigrants who are already doing so much to make all of our lives better. And we will create a fair immigration system that welcomes those who seek refuge and opportunity in this country, as so many of our forebears did in the past.