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IMMIGRATION - What We’re Not Talking About: Shelby Mertes, The Human Survival Project



This show is also an audio-only podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most podcast services.


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

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