• The Economic Impact of Immigration on the United States

    Analysis Group consultants compiled and analyzed recent data and empirical research to understand the role immigrants play in the US economy.  

    Immigrants and the US Economy

    In 2017, consultants at Analysis Group collaborated with the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council to author a report on immigrants’ contributions to the technology sector and to the American economy more generally. That report was included in amicus briefs filed by challengers seeking to overturn then-President Trump’s restriction of travel and immigration to the US from several Muslim-majority nations.

    In the intervening years, immigration to the United States has continued to be the topic of an intense national dialogue. Seeking once again to provide an evidence-based contribution to this ongoing discussion, a large Analysis Group team led by President Pierre Cremieux, Managing Principal Jee-Yeon Lehmann, and Senior Advisor Almudena Arcelus analyzed and compiled the most recent available evidence on the impact that immigrants have on economic growth, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the United States.

    Titled The Economic Impact of Immigration on the United States, the new report updates the earlier findings on immigrants in the United States and their contributions to the US economy. These empirical findings continue to show that immigrants are critically important for the nation’s capacity for innovation, economic growth, and technological change.

    What the Data Show

    Among other conclusions, the updated report finds that immigrants are an integral part of the US economy and play a substantial role in American entrepreneurship, innovation, and productivity.

     

    Infographic: Immigrants fuel U.S. innovation and economic growth

     

    Data and empirical research also show that immigrants contribute broadly to American society, including in a variety of roles and skill levels in the labor market. They also drive advances at the highest levels of science and medicine. Immigrants in the United States also have a net positive fiscal impact over their lifetime. Finally, the data show no correlation between immigration and higher crime rates.

     

    Infographic: Immigrants contribute broadly to U.S. society

     

    A Resource for Discussion

    “It is our hope,” the authors write, “that this report can be a resource for voters, policymakers, journalists, business leaders, and the general public for evidence-based discourse that transcends rhetoric and partisanship on this important topic.” ■

    Read the report 

    Explore by chapter:

    Foreword 
    Executive Summary
    Overview of Immigrants in the Current U.S. Economy
    Impact of Immigrants on Entrepreneurial Activity, Innovation, and Productivity
    High-Skilled Immigrants
    Awards
    Immigration, Crime, and Terrorism
    Immigrants’ Use of Public Services and Government Benefits and Its Fiscal Impact
    Impact of Visa Restrictions on the U.S. Economy

     


    Almudena Arcelus, Senior Advisor
    Carlos Chiapa, Vice President
    Pierre Cremieux, President
    Maria Garibotti, Vice President
    Owen Hearey, Vice President
    Yeseul Hyun, Manager
    Lu Jinks, Manager
    Jee-Yeon Lehmann, Managing Principal
    Yao Lu, Vice President
    Kritika Narula, Manager
    Lolo Palacios, Manager
    Haimin Zhang, Vice President