AILA Report Shows Immigrants Vital To U.S. Economy

A recent report by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) concludes that "immigrants are a key part of the U.S. economy and will become an increasingly important element in America's economic growth and development in the future." Examining key economic data and studies, AILA found that immigrants will remain an essential element of labor force growth in American manufacturing and service sectors, as well as the U.S. economy as a whole. According to AILA, projections show there will be a significant number of jobs "at all levels of the skill spectrum," with new immigrants "playing a vital role in filling these jobs." Immigrants fill niches in the labor market and actually create jobs through entrepreneurship and consumer spending.

The report, titled "Economic Outlook Shows Vital Need For Immigrants in U.S. Economy," finds that more than 33 million new low-skill job openings will be created in the United States this decade, and that U.S. manufacturing will "face significant problems in the future finding workers needed to help America grow and prosper."

Other findings include:

1. Immigration will be the primary source of new skilled workers for manufacturing, filling 10 million new jobs by 2020

2. An inadequate labor force would accelerate the transfer of American productive capacity and well-paid manufacturing jobs overseas

3. Failure to attract enough labor through immigration will result in lower gross domestic product growth by at least 3 percent in 10 years and at least 17 percent in 30 years

4. Immigrants were crucial to job and labor force growth in the 1990s, and the "New Economy" of the last decade was "overwhelmingly dependent on male immigrant workers"

5. A "fairly high fraction" of new immigrant workers, particularly those in jobs requiring fewer skills, were undocumented immigrants

Commending on the report, AILA President Palma Yanni said the study demonstrates "the need for comprehensive immigration reform that would address the reality of the marketplace and the future labor force needs of the U.S. economy and American employers."