We Need Immigration
A Sociological Review
When teaching introduction to sociology, I reserve the last few weeks of my class to cover social change and population. We talk about the idea of the environment and why population is such a critical factor, and the students often chime in with thoughts about how we just have too many people on this planet! Seven billion is a lot of people, and so I don’t disagree with them, but there is nuance to this number that we often don’t consider.
In many countries, the birth rate is increasing, and the replacement rate for those that are dying is right on track or even high. However, it’s important to note that in the United States (and many other wealthy countries), the birth rate is falling while the death rate is not. What does this mean? It means that we are not reproducing fast enough for the population to replace itself. The fertility rate in the United States has been declining for years, and we have been below replacement rate since the 1970s. What are the consequences of this?
One consequence is that our population is aging. While people are living longer, they aren’t necessarily working that much longer than the previous generation, so there could be a concern that we will not have enough workers to replace those that are falling out of the workforce. Baby Boomers are headed into retirement at record rates; replacing such a large generation could prove to be difficult. In addition, population growth is a factor in economic expansion, and so another concern is that our GDP might be impacted at some point in the not-so-distant future. How do we offset this? Immigration.
When we began as a nation, we saw immigration as a necessary part of our growth; we were the Land of Opportunity, and our nation needed people in order to be on the path to greatness. Things have changed. Immigration is often used as a bad word in our society; it is no secret that the current administration wants to reduce the numbers coming into the United States, and it has been a hotbed issue for many years. Congress has struggled to make changes, and bipartisan efforts toward immigration reform seem to be declining in recent years.
When demographers look at the projections, they see a relatively weak growth rate for our working-age population, but they affirm that immigration is the largest factor in the number not declining. Without our immigrant population, we would not be at replacement rate and could be facing some dire consequences. Other nations are already seeing the economic challenges of a declining working-age population.
Without immigrants, we face significant hurdles for our economy. Immigration has always been a backbone of our nation, and it is important to recognize that it is a part of our national fabric. While immigration changes the “look” of our country, it also strengthens us and makes us more adaptable. In a rapidly changing world, adaptability is a strength we will need.
