A recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine analyzes the economic and fiscal implications of immigration to the U.S. Between the mid-nineteen nineties and twenty fourteen, the number of immigrants living in America increased by more than seventy percent, from fewer than twenty five million in nineteen ninety five to more than forty two million by twenty fourteen.
The number of unauthorized immigrants doubled during this period from fewer than six million to more than eleven million. All told, the foreign born share of the labor force has expanded from roughly eleven percent to more than sixteen percent over the past two decades.
Here is one of the most remarkable findings. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, immigrants and their children will account for the vast majority of future net workforce growth.
Immigrants in the U.S. sent one hundred and thirty three billion dollars to family and friends in one hundred and seventy five nations – this according to the World Bank. Analysts note that these payments act as antipoverty programs and represent a source of U.S. influence around the world.