The surge in immigration will help bolster the US economy by about $7 trillion over the next decade by swelling the labor force and increasing demand, the Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday.
  • Migrant surge will lift demand and increase the labor force
  • CBO also projects $1 trillion more in government revenues

The surge in immigration will help bolster the US economy by about $7 trillion over the next decade by swelling the labor force and increasing demand, the Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday.

The stronger growth will be good for the federal government, lifting revenues by about $1 trillion more than otherwise over the period, according to the non-partisan agency. Wages, however, will rise more slowly, in part reflecting the increase in the number of lower skilled workers, in the CBO’s estimation.

“Increases in the population boost the demand for goods, services, and housing,” the CBO said in its budget and economic outlook for the next 10 years. “They also expand the productive capacity of the economy by increasing the size of the labor force.”

The increased migration stems mainly from people entering the US illegally and from those released by Customs and Border Protection officials with humanitarian parole or with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. After a lag, many of those migrants join the labor force.

The agency’s estimates come amid a fierce political debate in Washington over the surge of migration at the US-Mexico border and what should be done to control it.

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