Industries in the U.S. that provide food, shelter, clothing and health care often rely on the labor of immigrants — those on work visas, brought here as kids or in the country illegally, according to new data given exclusively to Axios from New American Economy (NAE), a group that supports immigration. Why it matters: House Democrats are resuming the fight over immigration issues with the reintroduction of the Dream Act, to give legal status to immigrants who came to the U.S., illegally as children. Studies by NAE have found immigrants almost universally create a net benefit in every state's economy, Andrew Lim, director of quantitative research at NAE, told Axios. The other side: The Trump administration often cites a well-known study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that found that immigrants cost the government a maximum of $300 billion a year. Be smart: Demographic trends forecast a future where a much smaller working-age population carries the burden of a much larger elderly population. Immigrants could be important to maintaining American economic growth.
Food, clothing, health and shelter sectors in the country are frequently dependent on the work of immigrants, according to data from the pro-immigration group New American Economy . The information is significant as House Democrats are reintroducing the Dream Act, that would grant legal status to immigrants who came to the US illegally as children. The Trump administration has frequently cited a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine study that argued immigrants cost the US government up to $300bn annually. In an interview with Fox News last week, Nielsen said she was “very concerned” about reports of abuse by federal agents at detention facilities for immigrants.