- Market strategist and economist Abby Joseph Cohen of Goldman Sachs, discussed a December 2018 Goldman Sachs research paper on economic disparities among various U.S. states.
As summarized in a March 27, 2019 interview, Cohen said that
One of the reasons our economy has been stronger and grown faster than the economies in Europe and Japan — and I’m comparing us to the developed economies — is because we have faster population growth. And we have faster population growth in large part because of immigration….
(L)arge cities in the US, in which some 30 percent of the population is made up of immigrants, “are doing extremely well,’ with a rise in jobs and income since 2009. This same prosperity has not been seen in the smaller towns and rural areas, where the immigrant population is under 5%
Cohen noted that she views with concern the current administration’s policies, which have led to a reduction in the issuance of visas for international students and for professional specialized knowledge works, as antithetical to economic growth.
- A March 31, 2019 report, Barriers to recruiting and retaining global talent in the U.S. by The Orrin G. Hatch Foundation and FWD.us, highlights how U.S. immigration laws are impairing the ability of U.S. companies to recruit and retain foreign-born professionals. This report echoes concerns from the Business Roundtable that our nation’s laws and their implementation by the administration are reducing the ability of U.S. companies to compete for global talent.
The report notes how the H-1B visa program is out of sync with the needs of companies, and of international students and professional level talent who want to be able to work and stay in the U.S.
Congress should take heed of these reports and advance an agenda to modernize our immigration laws to retain our values, and our economic strength, as a country that welcomes immigrants.