Sending the Wrong Message on Immigration

Jeffrey Miron and Erin PartinVice President Kamala Harris ’ recent warning to Central American migrants –“Do not come”– suggests the current administration endorses the same wrongheaded approach to immigration as previous administrations.Immigration is not a drain on the resources of the receiving country. Rather, immigrationgenerates economic growth,entrepreneurship, and otherbenefits. Research has found immigration to have both positive and negative fiscal effects depending on underlying assumptions; plus fears of negative effects can be addressed by requiring legal immigrants to wait significant periods before benefit eligibility. Indeed, many large federal programs, includingMedicaid,SSI, and SNAP, already impose waiting periods on immigrants. Beyond this,research shows that immigrants use welfare and entitlement programs at lower rates than citizens.In an effort to reduce migration at lawful ports of entry, the Biden administration plans to spend $4 billion on aid to Central America to induce would ‐​be migrants to stay put.Researchsuggests, however, that foreign aid has little effect on economic growth in low ‐​income countries and may lead to increased emigration from aid‐​receiving countries.Instead, one way the U.S. can reduce the flow of migrants is by legalizing drugs, a policy change that makes sense independent of immigration. Increases in homicides arelinked to increases in apprehensions of unaccompanied children at the border, an...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs