Bush Institute Monthly Immigration Update

Hello, Friends.

 

Today is both Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is marking the occasion by naturalizing more than 17,000 immigrants. USCIS made a concerted effort to reduce the backlog of naturalization applications in recent years, ensuring that our immigrant neighbors who are ready to become Americans can do so without unnecessarily long wait times.

The George W. Bush Institute believes it’s in the best interest of the United States, local communities, and the private sector to promote naturalization and support immigrants on their journey to citizenship. We should celebrate every time someone chooses to become part of the fabric of our country. Immigrants are our neighbors, our friends, and our colleagues. They grow our economy, enrich our culture, and strengthen our communities.

We should never forget those who may want to naturalize but who have no pathway to do so. For example, Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants live, work, and worship with us. But our immigration system doesn’t allow them to become full participants in our society.

A reasonable solution for these immigrants – including an earned path to citizenship – should not be forgotten in the policy conversations about immigration.

 

Kind regards,

Laura

Figure of the Month

9.3 million

Data Dive

 

• Recent immigrants age 16 or older have a labor-force participation rate of 68%, slightly higher than the rate for U.S.-born Americans (62%). However, many face barriers to accessing high-skilled jobs, as recent immigrants are more than twice as likely to lack a high school diploma as U.S.-born workers.

• Immigration is good for fiscal health. Newsweek reports that immigrants in the U.S. paid $579.1 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022, accounting for nearly one in every six tax dollars collected that year. According to census data analyzed by the American Immigration Council, California led with over $151 billion in tax payments from immigrants, while New York and Texas each collected more than $50 billion.

• According to an updated report from the American Immigration Council, immigrants make up 23.2% of Dallas's population, but their impact extends beyond that share. In 2022, they represented 28.4% of the city's labor force, including 26.4% of STEM professionals. This group also contributed $2.5 billion in federal, state, and local taxes and wielded $8.2 billion in spending power, fueling the local economy and supporting economic growth in Dallas.

• This recent New York Times piece reports that the Biden Administration is making temporary asylum restrictions a central feature of U.S. immigration policy, imposing stricter criteria for asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border. Originally intended as short-term solutions, these restrictions are expanding, underscoring the inadequacy of temporary measures and the need to uphold the U.S.'s commitment to asylum seekers.

• More good content from the American Immigration Council, which is out with a series of three reports on immigrant contributions to healthcare, construction, and energy in Texas. Spoiler: Immigrant workers are essential to these industries.

• September 25, HIAS: What's at Stake? Asylum, Refugee Resettlement, and the 2024 Election

• September 30, Migration Policy Institute: 21st Annual Immigration Law & Policy Conference

• November 12, National Immigration Forum: Leading the Way 2024

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