Immigration might often be framed as an issue facing the U.S., but a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data shows that it is actually behind a population revival in America’s largest cities.
“Population losses in these places are subsiding and, in some cases, turning into gains that are approaching pre-pandemic levels,” said the Brookings Institution Report. “Migration patterns, especially a continued rise in post-pandemic immigration from abroad, have contributed to these shifts.”
In February, Gallup polling found that more than a quarter of Americans (28%) polled named immigration as the most important problem facing the U.S. Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential candidate for the upcoming presidential election, leans on immigration as a campaign issue and has slammed President Joe Biden’s approach to it.
This year, Biden announced support for what he called “the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve had in decades,” in response to the issue.
However, the Census Bureau said late last year that immigration was driving post-pandemic population growth in the U.S.
“U.S. migration returning to pre-pandemic levels and a drop in deaths are driving the nation’s growth,” said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Population Division at the Census Bureau. “Although births declined, this was tempered by the near 9% decrease in deaths. Ultimately, fewer deaths paired with rebounding immigration resulted in the nation experiencing its largest population gain since 2018.”
Back in 2022, Audacy reported on research about U.S. fertility amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our estimates highlight the very important role of foreign-born women in bolstering U.S. fertility rates,” said the paper’s conclusion. “Without these births, the U.S. birth rate would be much lower and closer to other low-fertility countries found in Europe or Japan.”
According to the recent Brookings analysis, out-migration and smaller population losses in major metropolitan areas such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago have declined. It said that major metropolitan areas were already seeing a population decline before the pandemic.
“While natural increase (the excess of births minus deaths) has improved almost everywhere, changing domestic migration patterns and especially a rise in international migration served to benefit population change in large metropolitan areas and their urban core counties,” last year Brookings said.
Some metro areas, Miami and Boston for example, saw immigration from abroad made a primary contribution to population.
Even smaller metro areas saw growth from immigration, according to Brookings. The same was true for growth in inner suburbs.
“The rise in immigration from abroad was a unique and demographically welcome contributor to reduced losses and increased gains in many major metro areas and their urban core counties,” said Brookings. “And in the future, it is likely to be a substantial contributor to many of these areas that serve as major immigrant destinations.”
According to a report from the Center for Public Integrity, immigration is good for the economy too. It said that economists expect immigration to boost the U.S. economy despite challenges such as high interest rates.
Citing the Congressional Budget Office, it said that the U.S. labor force is expected to grow by an extra 5.2 million workers, mostly because of increased immigration. They are expected to boost the country’s Gross Domestic Product by a total of 2%.
Bloomberg reported last month that Tyson Foods is already looking at immigration as an opportunity to fill positions. As governors from southern states such as Texas and Florida have sent migrants to cities in the North, Chicago has also embraced the opportunity. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson supported an effort to feed those migrants at a cost of $70 million.
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Throughout the nation, the CBO expects immigrant workers will add an extra $7 trillion to the economy within the next decade and an extra $1 trillion in federal tax revenue.
“New immigrants will prevent the U.S. population from shrinking,” said the Center for Public Integrity, which added that estimates include both immigrants who enter the country illegally and legally. “They will be the source of all U.S. population growth by 2042.”
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