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Immigration seems to be the biggest issue discussed in this year’s U.S. presidential campaign between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. The United States (and the world) is struggling to handle the large migrations of people due to poverty, war, political turmoil and environmental catastrophe. Trump and other Republicans are calling immigrants murderers, rapists, drug dealers and pet eaters. Democrats are calling Republicans racists, and not really addressing their concerns about crime, jobs, housing and economic impacts. And neither party is talking about the dramatic increases in migration that are likely in the coming years, and how to manage that. Most people are just spewing anger at each other, without much problem solving.
The Human Survival Project works to promote solutions to migration, among other issues, and prides itself on explaining complicated issues in ways that everyone can understand. So in this episode, we get beyond the angry soundbites to address some misunderstandings about immigration, and offer real solutions that might actually work.
This episode is based on a LOT of research. We want you to see the resources we used, to verify what we’ve offered in this talk, and to support you in learning more. You can see them below.
RESOURCES:
BACKGROUND / POLITICAL
New York Times - 11/11/23
Sweeping Raids, Giant Camps and Mass Deportations: Inside Trump’s 2025 Immigration Plans
The Atlantic Council - 2/21/24
This year’s bipartisan immigration bill offers a border blueprint for 2025
FUTURE INCREASES IN IMMIGRATION
Scientific American - 8/9/21
Earth Is Warmer Than It’s Been in 125,000 Years
Institute for Economics and Peace - 9/9/20
Over one billion people at threat of being displaced by 2050 due to environmental change,
conflict and civil unrest
The Guardian - 5/5/20
One billion people will live in insufferable heat within 50 years – study
(current numbers of displaced people, globally)
UNHCR/The UN Refugee Agency
Global Appeal 2024
New York Times - 7/23/20
The Great Climate Migration
TIME - 8/31/22
Where We’ll End Up Living as the Planet Burns
U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence - March 2021
The Future of Water: Water Insecurity Threatening Global Economic Growth, Political Stability
CONNECTION BETWEEN LEGAL AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
(i.e. “very high wall with a very big gate”):
New York Times - 5/16/23
It’s Time for Biden to Out-Trump Trump on Immigration
ECONOMIC IMPACTS
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Understanding America’s Labor Shortage - 7/24/24
The Most Impacted States - 8/28/24
Immigration Data Center - 8/31/23
Associated Press - 8/16/24
JD Vance has long been on a quest to encourage more births in the United States
Investopedia - 1/18/24
How Immigration Affects the Economy
Trending Globally: Politics and Policy Podcast - 5/25/22
The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
One Economist Makes the Case for Expanding Immigration
Foreign Affairs - 5/3/22
The Refugee Opportunity: Those Fleeing Ukraine and Elsewhere Are a Boon to Host Countries
60 Minutes - 2/4/24
Fed Chair on immigration's role in economic recovery
The Hill - 9/4/24
Goldman Sachs: Trump policies would slow down economy
Forbes - 5/5/23
Economists Say Increasing Immigration Will Reduce Inflation
Fwd.us / George Mason University - May 2023
To lower inflation, America needs more immigration to alleviate national labor shortages
TAXES VS PUBLIC SPENDING (FISCAL IMPACT)
Cato Institute - 3/21/23
The Fiscal Impact of Immigration in the United States
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy - 7/30/24
Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants
IMMIGRANT CRIME
Brennan Center for Justice - 5/29/24
Debunking the Myth of the ‘Migrant Crime Wave’
Stanford University Institute for Economic Policy Research - 7/21/23
The mythical tie between immigration and crime
Cato Institute - 3/4/19
Criminal Immigrants in 2017: Their Numbers, Demographics, and Countries of Origin
Heritage Foundation - 6/20/23
Increased Illegal Immigration Brings Increased Crime: Almost 2/3 of Federal Arrests Involve Noncitizens
Washington Post - 10/3/24
Analysis | Trump’s outrageously false claim of 13,000 migrant murderers ‘on the loose’
New York Times - 9/28/24
The American Drug Mules Smuggling Fentanyl Into the U.S.
Cato Institute - 8/23/23
U.S. Citizens Were 89% of Convicted Fentanyl Traffickers in 2022
MANAGING IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION
CNN - 1/31/24
Denver nears its breaking point as migrants and the cold pile in
Migration Policy Institute - 8/1/24
After Crisis of Unprecedented Migrant Arrivals, U.S. Cities Settle into New Normal
Migration Policy Institute - 9/27/23
New York and Other U.S. Cities Struggle with High Costs of Migrant Arrivals
Washington Post - 10/4/24
The world’s mayors want to change the conversation on migration