Just as the Senate prepares to revisit a controversial immigration bill, the White House Council of Economic Advisers released a report Wednesday which says that U.S. native workers benefit from legal and illegal immigration. “Immigrants tend to complement (not substitute for ) native workers, raising natives’ productivity and income,” said the report.
Other findings include:
— Immigrants are a critical part of the U.S. workforce and contribute to productivity growth and technological advancement. Immigrants make up 15% of all workers and even larger shares of certain occupations such as construction, food services and health care.
— About 40% of Ph.D. scientists working in the United States are foreign born.
— Many immigrants are entrepreneurs. The Kauffman Foundation’s index of entrepreneurial activity is nearly 40% higher for immigrants than for natives. The Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Mo., studies and finances entrepreneurship and innovation.
— Immigrants have lower crime rates than natives. Among men aged 18 to 40, immigrants are much less likely to be incarcerated than natives.
The report states that the word “immigrant” includes both legal and illegal foreign born people.