Immigration
Debunking Myths on Immigration, Border Security, and Welfare: A Fact-Checked Analysis
Introduction
Immigration and welfare policies are often shrouded in myths and fearmongering. Right-wing narratives frequently claim that immigrants bring crime, steal jobs, and drain public benefits, while simultaneously defending massive corporate subsidies and bailouts. This report conducts deep research to fact-check and expose common fallacies about immigration, border security, and welfare. Drawing on official government data, reputable research (Pew, Brookings, Cato, etc.), and historical records, we compare economic, social, and historical evidence to determine the real impacts of immigration and government assistance. The goal is to arm readers with facts and well-documented rebuttals to misinformation, separating myths vs. facts and highlighting how political actors manipulate these issues. We also explore the historical context of U.S. immigration, global comparisons, and potential policy solutions that address real problems rather than scapegoating vulnerable groups.
1. Immigration & Border Security:
Myths vs. Facts
Myth: “There’s an open-border crisis and a flood of illegal crossings.”
Fact: While undocumented border crossings have increased in recent years, the situation is more complex than political soundbites suggest. U.S. Border Patrol “encounters” (apprehensions plus immediate expulsions) at the southwest border did hit record levels around 2.2 million in FY2022
. However, a significant number are repeat crossers – due in part to the pandemic-era Title 42 policy that rapidly expelled migrants without formal deportation, prompting many to try again. This inflated raw crossing numbers without indicating unique individuals. Historically, the U.S. saw even higher crossings in the past; apprehensions peaked at 1.64 million in the year 2000
. By 2017, border apprehensions had actually fallen to their lowest point since the early 1970s
. In other words, today’s “crisis” needs context: the border is not literally open, and enforcement is robust (the Border Patrol now has over 19,000 agents and billions in technology). Moreover, nearly half of undocumented immigrants didn’t sneak in at all – they entered legally on visas and then overstayed
. A recent analysis found about 42% of the undocumented population are visa overstayers, and about two-thirds of new unauthorized immigrants in a recent year came from visa overstays rather than border crossings
. This undercuts the argument that a border wall or more guards alone would “solve” illegal immigration.
Myth: “Immigrants are bringing a crime wave across the border.”
Fact: Comprehensive data show that immigrants (including undocumented immigrants) have lower crime and incarceration rates than native-born Americans. For example, a detailed study of Texas (one of the few states that records criminal convictions by immigration status) found that over 2013–2022 the homicide conviction rate for illegal immigrants was 2.2 per 100,000 people – significantly lower than the rate of 3.0 per 100,000 for native-born Americans
. In that period, illegal immigrants in Texas were 26% less likely to be convicted of homicide than natives, and legal immigrants were 61% less likely
. This “Texas study” aligns with nationwide research: immigrant communities tend to have lower crime rates. Far from a wave of cartel criminals, the typical undocumented border-crosser is a family fleeing violence or a worker seeking jobs, not a felon. The fear of immigrant crime is largely a political fabrication. Even the presence of would-be terrorists at the border is exceedingly rare – in recent data, only about 0.008% of Border Patrol encounters involved anyone on the terrorism watchlist
. The vast majority of people caught crossing are simply economic migrants or asylum seekers with no criminal record. Scapegoating immigrants for crime is an old nativist tactic unsupported by facts.
Myth: “They steal American jobs and drive down wages.”
Fact: Immigrants do participate in the labor market, but they also grow the economy and often fill vital jobs that are hard to staff. Undocumented immigrants make up about 5% of the U.S. workforce and are heavily concentrated in industries like agriculture, construction, food service, and caregiving
. These are sectors where employers often struggle to hire enough workers. Multiple economic studies (including a landmark National Academy of Sciences report) have found little to no long-term negative impact on average wages or unemployment for native-born workers. If there is an effect, it tends to be a very small dip in wages for prior immigrants or workers without a high school diploma, while most other groups see neutral or slight positive effects due to overall economic expansion. Immigrants also have higher rates of entrepreneurship, starting about 25% of new businesses in the U.S. despite being 14% of the population. They create jobs. Moreover, the notion of a fixed number of jobs (“they take jobs we need”) is a fallacy – economies are dynamic, and immigrants often complement native workers’ skills rather than substitute for them. For instance, immigrant farmworkers or care aides enable higher-skilled Americans to remain in the labor force. Areas that have cracked down on undocumented labor often faced labor shortages and even crop losses (e.g. farms in states with harsh immigration laws reported crops rotting due to lack of workers). Even under “America First” immigration restrictions, businesses have warned of worker shortages that drive up prices and hurt the economy
. Simply put, immigrants contribute labor and talent that boosts U.S. productivity. Fears of mass job displacement are not supported by economic data.
Myth: “Immigrants don’t pay taxes and just strain the system.”
Fact: Immigrants – including those here illegally – pay a wide variety of taxes, often supporting public coffers more than they draw benefits (since undocumented immigrants are largely ineligible for those benefits). Undocumented workers pay billions in payroll taxes each year for Social Security and Medicare that they cannot later reclaim. In fact, the Social Security Administration’s chief actuary estimated that undocumented immigrants contributed a net $12 billion to Social Security in 2010 alone
. That year, unauthorized workers paid about $13 billion into the Social Security trust fund while only about $1 billion in benefits were paid out on their behalf
. Those excess billions bolster the retirement system for American seniors
. Additionally, immigrants pay sales taxes, property taxes (directly or via rent), and income taxes (many undocumented immigrants do file income tax returns using IRS-issued ITINs, and others have taxes withheld under false SSNs). A 2017 analysis found undocumented immigrants pay an estimated $11.6 billion in state and local taxes annually
. On the flip side, undocumented immigrants are barred from virtually all federal welfare programs (we detail this in Section 3). Far from freeloading, most immigrants are net contributors, often subsidizing public programs that U.S. citizens rely on. It’s also worth noting that legal immigrants often arrive educated at another country’s expense (think of engineers from India or doctors from abroad), effectively a “brain gain” for the U.S. economy. The broad consensus of economists is that immigration, on balance, increases GDP growth and has a positive fiscal impact over the long run
, especially when immigrants’ children’s upward mobility is factored in. Immigrants also offset demographic challenges: as the native workforce ages and birth rates decline, young immigrant workers help support the labor force and tax base
.
Myth: “They should just immigrate legally like my ancestors did – today’s immigrants break the law.”
Fact: It’s far harder to “get in line” and come legally today than it was for earlier generations. The U.S. immigration system has strict numerical caps and backlogs that can stretch decades. For example, a U.S. citizen trying to sponsor a brother from the Philippines faces a wait of 20+ years due to annual visa quotas. Employment-based green cards are capped at about 140,000 per year for the entire world, with per-country limits that mean, say, an Indian PhD working here might wait over a decade for a visa because of the country quota. The oft-cited advice to “come the right way” ignores reality: for many hardworking people with no immediate family in the U.S. or highly-specialized skills, there is no legal pathway at all. Refugee and asylum slots are limited and backlogged as well. By contrast, 100 years ago the U.S. had virtually no numerical limits on European immigration – your ancestors simply showed up at Ellis Island and, if deemed not carrying disease, were admitted. Immigration law has become much more restrictive since the 1920s (when the first quotas were imposed), and especially after 1965 when for the first time caps were applied to the Western Hemisphere. This means many migrants coming from Latin America or Africa today have no viable legal avenues, no matter how desperate their situation, unless U.S. policy changes. It’s important to note many do try to immigrate legally: the U.S. issues about 1 million green cards yearly (mostly to family of citizens and refugees) and hundreds of thousands of temporary work visas. But these numbers don’t always meet labor demand or humanitarian need. Other countries have different approaches – for instance, Canada and Australia use “points” systems favoring skilled immigrants and take in much higher immigrants per capita than the U.S. (Canada’s intake is roughly 3× higher per capita)
. The comparison shows that the U.S. could admit more immigrants through legal channels to reduce pressure on the border. In short, many undocumented immigrants would immigrate legally if they could – but our laws offer them no line to stand in. This legal bottleneck contributes to unauthorized immigration. A more sensible system (as discussed in Solutions) would expand legal work visas and refugee slots so that fewer people feel forced to cross illegally.
Myth: “Mass immigration is an unprecedented threat” (implying the U.S. has never seen immigration like this before).
Fact: The U.S. is a nation built by immigrants, and current immigration levels (legal plus illegal) are not without historical parallel. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the foreign-born share of the U.S. population reached similar levels as today (~13-15%). Around 1900, cities teemed with newcomers from Italy, Poland, Ireland, etc., much like the diverse immigrant communities now. Those earlier waves were likewise met with panic and xenophobia (which we’ll see in the historical section), yet they and their descendants integrated into American society. Today’s immigrants are learning English at similar rates by the second generation, and naturalization rates are high (millions of immigrants choose to become U.S. citizens each decade). The idea that today’s immigration is uniquely dire is a historical misconception – America has absorbed large immigrant influxes before and ultimately benefited from them. What is different now is the politicization of immigration (discussed later) and the fact that contemporary immigrants are more likely to be non-European (coming from Latin America, Asia, Africa), which has unfortunately activated a strain of racialized fear in some political rhetoric. But by the numbers, immigration is not spiraling out of control: as a proportion of population, countries like Canada, Australia, and many European nations actually accept more immigrants than the U.S. and manage it successfully
. With smart policy, immigration can continue to be a source of vitality for the U.S., not a “threat.”
