Project
2024-11-23
Immigration has long been integral to the American narrative, influencing the nation’s identity, values, and development. Despite this, persistent misconceptions about immigration continue to spread, often fueled by alarmist rhetoric that dehumanizes immigrants and ignites baseless fears. Similar to the early 20th century, immigrants are still wrongfully depicted as a threat to American jobs, values, and safety. Specifically, in the past several years, immigration has increased in concern to many U.S. citizen voters. In fact, one of the top issues newly elected president Donald Trump’s supporters felt needed to be strictly reformed was immigration policy. Some argue that stricter immigration policies are necessary for many reasons, such as protecting national security, and preserving jobs for U.S. citizens. Although debates over stricter immigration laws have existed for some time, the policies that Donald Trump proposes, such as ending birthright citizenship and mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, could have profound consequences across various facets of society. This perspective of immigration often overlooks the significant role that immigrants play in sustaining and strengthening the U.S. economy. From filling essential labor gaps to greatly contributing to tax revenue, immigrants have consistently been a driving force behind economic growth.
Through examining the economic contributions of immigrants, the potential labor shortages caused by such policies, and the long-term impact on industries reliant on immigrant workers, this project will highlight how the rise in anti-immigration rhetoric and restrictive immigration reform policies may ultimately backfire as there is an inherent conflict between the goals of immigration reform advocates and their economic priorities.
It is important to note that most of the data presented focuses on foreign-born residents, which include both non-citizens (47.8%) and naturalized citizens (52.2%). These proposed policies would impact both groups: non-citizens could face deportation, while the population of naturalized citizens could significantly decline due to stricter immigration laws making it more difficult to obtain legal status.
As these proposed immigration policies threaten to affect both non-citizens and naturalized citizens, it is crucial to understand the broader societal implications. Immigration, along with economic concerns, has been a key issue for voters, influencing the priorities of political candidates. The following visual highlights how the economy and immigration were central to the issues that mattered most to the supporters of the winning candidate in the recent election.
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As illustrated in the visual, 93% of voters who supported Trump’s platform identified the economy as one of the issues that was an important factor influencing their vote, while 82% cited immigration as a key reason for their support.This dual emphasis on economic and immigration issues highlights the tension between the desire for economic growth and the increasingly restrictive views on immigrationpolicies, which may undermine the very economic stability that voters seek to preserve.
Building on the prominence of immigration and economic issues for Trump supporters, it is essential to examine the demographic shifts that play a significant role in shaping these concerns. A key factor influencing debates around immigration is the changing population dynamics in the U.S., particularly the growing population of foreign-born residents.The following visual compares the population density of foreign-born versus native-born residents, providing a clearer picture of how these groups are distributed across the country.
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Sources:
(data for first visual) https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/09/09/issues-and-the-2024-election/pp_2024-9-9_harris-trump_2-01/
(data for second visual) https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2023.S0502?q=immigrants
(data for third visual ) https://data.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/LNS11300000 https://data.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/LNU01373395
(data for fourth visual) https://data.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/LEU0257370500
(data for fifth) https://www.bls.gov/news.release/forbrn.t04.htm
(data for sixth) https://www.bea.gov/ -statista
(data for 7th) https://itep.org/undocumented-immigrants-taxes-2024/
(data for 8th and 9th) https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2023/demo/popproj/2023-summary-tables.html
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2023/demo/popproj/2023-alternative-summary-tables.html