FEDERAL RESERVE BANK CHAIRMAN CONTINUES TO STRESS IMPORTANCE OF IMMIGRATION TO THE ECONOMY

In testimony before the House of Representative Banking Committee, Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Alan Greenspan, responding to a question about the current labor shortages in both the farm and high tech sectors, advocated expanding legal immigration to the US. According to Greenspan:

“Not only in high-tech and in the farm area but throughout the country, aggregate demand is putting pressure on an ever decreasing supply of unemployed labor.  One obvious means one can use to offset that is expanding the number of people we allow in, either generally or in focused areas.  I think an appraisal of our immigration policies in this regard is on the table.  I recognize there are huge problems associated with that, such as the question of the social safety net we have in this country, which is very substantial.  It would be obviously inappropriate to open up our immigration capabilities to people who did not come to work.  But all the experience that I've seen suggests that people seeking to come to the United States are coming for jobs and the opportunities we have here.  I don't therefore perceive that as more than a theoretical problem.  So I think that reviewing our immigration laws in the context of the type of economy that we will be enjoying in the decade ahead is clearly on the table.”

Greenspan is credited by many with being directly responsible for the sustained economic boom the US has enjoyed over the past decade. Immigration advocates hope that Greenspan’s remarks will cause people to give serious reconsideration to their positions on immigration.