Tower Center Senior Fellow, Dallas Federal Reserve Vice President and Senior Economist Pia Orrenius recently published an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News Mid-April. As the Presidential campaign season ramps up, immigration remains as a hot issue for candidates to weigh in on and Pia’s article will help readers look into the facts and claims surrounding the debate.
Immigration has emerged as a top issue in the presidential campaign. The timing is odd, since immigration into the United States has slowed sharply. Issuance of green cards, or permanent resident visas, to new arrivals has been largely flat since 2008, but dipped in 2013 to a six-year low.
Illegal immigration is near record lows, with migrant apprehensions along the Southwest border at levels last seen in the 1970s. Temporary work-based visas have risen slightly in recent years but remain below their 2007 peak. Plotting visas and migrant apprehensions as a share of the nation’s working-age population, reinforces the point that immigration is slowing in both absolute and relative terms… Click Here to Read More