There is no clearer indicator than this year's horrific Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse to highlight the blood and sweat immigrants are giving every day to this country. Meanwhile, some of our country’s leaders are committed to lies and dangerous rhetoric while completely ignoring the fact that immigrants are pouring their heart, soul, and their lives to build America’s infrastructure. While the rest of us were sleeping, six hard-working construction workers gave their lives to better ours and improve our commutes to work.
The six construction workers were also fathers, brothers, husbands, and uncles, who came from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala with hopes of achieving the American Dream. Their sacrifice should remind us that immigrants in this country should be celebrated and not demonized.
No matter where we come from, what our color or how we worship, most of us work hard for our families and children.
But today, certain politicians and their greedy lobbyists hurt everyone by handing kickbacks to the rich, defunding our schools, and threatening families with cuts to healthcare and other programs that give us the tools to thrive. Then they turn around and point the finger for our hard times at new immigrants.
It's up to us to correct the record!
A new report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that thanks to the uptick in immigration, following the pandemic, the U.S. economy will grow an additional $7 trillion!!! U.S. revenue is also estimated to be greater by $1 trillion than it would have been without immigrants coming to this country.
Even Trump-appointed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell recognizes the massive contributions immigrants make in keeping our economy growing. In a CBS 60 Minutes interview Powell said, “I will say, over time, though, the U.S. economy has benefited from immigration. And, frankly, just in the last year a big part of the story of the labor market coming back into better balance is immigration returning to levels that were more typical of the pre-pandemic era.”
Let's not forget the contributions immigrants are already making in our families, communities, culture, and our economy. For example, in 2021 immigrants made up just over 13 percent of the population and contributed $524.7 billion in taxes! You heard that right–despite what some politicians want you to think most immigrants pay taxes! Also, immigrants are more likely to be of working-age than their U.S.-born counterparts meaning immigrants are more likely to be active in the labor market. While other countries face economic challenges because of an aging population and shrinking workforce, immigration has kept our economy growing!
Unfortunately, not a lot of people are talking about the huge contributions of immigrants to our workforce, economy, and communities. Instead, we’re hearing baseless attacks from politicians on immigrants in our communities. We have to spread the word and remind our friends, families, neighbors, and members of Congress that immigrants make our country and economy stronger!
That's where you come in! Local newspapers are still a great source of news and information sharing. We need to uplift this great report from the CBO to counter disinformation about immigrants and show all the readers how critical immigration really is for the economy, our families, and our communities!
The pre-drafted letter (which you can edit when you click through to the link) simply says:
Immigrants work tirelessly to build this country, performing dangerous and demanding jobs. There’s no clearer indicator than last month’s Baltimore bridge collapse where six fathers, husbands, brothers, and uncles died while literally building the infrastructure of our nation. The sacrifices immigrants make for our country each and every day should be celebrated, not criminalized or demonized.
It's time to cut through the noise and tell the truth about immigration: Our economy and country are stronger because of it. Some leaders would have us think it’s a zero-sum game when our country takes in immigrants but that’s not true at all.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the U.S. economy will grow by an extra $7 trillion over the next ten years THANKS TO immigrants! Moreover, in 2021 immigrants paid $524.7 billion in taxes. That’s money that fuels our nation’s K-12 schools, Medicaid, and Social Security.
Even Trump’s appointed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell recently said, “a big part of the story of the labor market coming back into better balance is immigration returning to levels that were more typical of the pre-pandemic era.”
So let’s give credit where credit is due, stop the anti-immigrant rhetoric and end the zero-sum mindset. Immigration truly is essential for our economic growth and our communities’ prosperity.
Together, we are a powerful voice for immigrant families!
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