Immigration has been a central question in American politics since at least the 1920s — with the Immigration Act of 1924 — and has continued to remain prevalent throughout the century since. Historically, it has been heavily debated, and modern times prove no different. 

In 2022, Gallup found, “18% of Democrats, 39% of independents and 68% of Republicans … worry ‘a great deal’ about illegal immigration.” Their data also demonstrated “Democrats (86%) are nearly twice as likely as Republicans (46%)” to view immigration as a positive attribute to the United States.

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These trends seem to suggest that American citizens tend to view immigration primarily in two polarized manners: The first is marked by concern for immigration, especially if “illegal,” and the second regards immigration as ultimately beneficial. Consequently, such contrasting views on immigration have risen to the forefront of contemporary public policy. 

In 2012, then-President Barack Obama established the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that granted protection from deportation for about 700,000 undocumented immigrants. He also attempted to create a similar program for immigrant parents, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, however, this order didn’t go through after being met with opposition from multiple states. 

Alternatively, former President Donald Trump’s policies while in office were much stricter on immigration. He banned incoming travelers who were citizens of the countries of Iran, Syria, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Venezuela and Yemen; promised to build a border wall; and attempted to phase out DACA — a move ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court in 2020. 

Moreover, immigration has also been a heated topic of debate on the state level. For example, Texas Gov. Greg Abbot launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021, which, according to The Washington Post, “has expanded far beyond establishing a Texas law enforcement presence on the Rio Grande” into empowering local and state law enforcement to “jail migrants on trespassing charges.” 

Trump’s and Abbot’s strict immigration policies, and other similar ones, align with the political view that immigration is a threat to the lives of American citizens. A common justification for this is that immigrants are stealing jobs from Americans, thereby taking away economic opportunities from U.S. citizens. 

Trump utilized this type of rhetoric throughout his presidential campaign and time as president. While delivering a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, he claimed, “Illegal immigration is also deeply unfair to American workers and taxpayers,” and that it is “not compassionate. It’s inhumane, unjust, and cruel.”

Citizens who support harsh immigration policies often express similar sentiments. They warn, “Immigrants steal jobs from Americans and drag down the standard of living,” as NPR highlighted.

Despite this justification being common, data has repeatedly proven that immigrants aren’t stealing jobs from American citizens and are even stimulating the U.S. economy. 

Social policy research from the Urban Institute discovered that the three occupations most prominently held by immigrants “without a high school diploma are maids and house cleaners, cooks, and miscellaneous agricultural workers.” Meanwhile, the three occupations most prominently held by American citizens without high school degrees “are cashiers, truck drivers, and janitors and building cleaners.” 

The differences between these jobs indicate that immigrants, even with equal education levels to American citizens, do not compete with American citizens for the same job positions.

In fact, Pew Research Center found that Americans across different racial, ethnic and political groups “generally agree that immigrants — whether undocumented or living legally in the country — mostly do not work in jobs that U.S. citizens want.” 

Similarly, senior fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution has attested that “many of the jobs occupied by undocumented workers in the United States are physically demanding jobs that Americans do not want.” 

With regard to economic stimulation, Brookings also found that diversity, often created by immigration, correlates with increased innovation and productivity growth, which are key to job creation. 

Furthermore, The Washington Post noted, “Immigration has propelled the U.S. job market further … helping cement the country’s economic rebound from the pandemic as the most robust in the world.”

This paramount evidence makes it undoubtedly apparent that immigrants aren’t stealing jobs Americans want and are even generating economic opportunities and growth in the U.S. The American public should recognize immigrants for the hard work they do that improves our country, including how they often fill necessary gaps in our country’s labor force.