Make Immigration Great Again!

            A lot of kids graduated from Texas A&M last week. One of our grandchildren, Aubrey, wss among them. She’s also the third of our grandchildren to graduate from A&M with a STEM degree.  Her degree: bioengineering. She’s following up with work in a bioengineering research lab while getting a master’s degree.

            I’ve loved attending these graduations — not to mention the University of Texas, Austin graduation for another grandchild. Each time my feelings have gone way beyond pride in our grandchildren. They become a huge blast of pride and thankfulness that I am an American.

            “Is this a great country, or what?” I want to shout.

            “Is this a great state, or what? I want to bellow.

            Those feelings come from watching a long line of kids of different races and names that are difficult to pronounce cross the stage to receive their degrees. They are our new blood. They have the new skills and knowledge capital vital to the future of our state. Many of the new graduates have parents who were born in other countries — if they weren’t born in other countries themselves. They may also be the first in their families to earn a college degree.

            To be sure, what I feel is raw emotion.

            But those feelings are supported by the history of our state.  Not to mention the realities of life on planet Earth.

            For those who are skeptical, consider some data.

            — The most recent Budget and Economic Outlook report from the Congressional Budget Office projects that economic growth between 2024 and 2034 will be higher than previously projected. The primary reason for this change, the report notes, is greater net immigration, particularly for people in their prime working years, age 16 to 54. The report notes that 91 percent of immigrants will be age 16 to 54, a far greater portion than the 62 percent of the overall population. The CBO figures include both legal and illegal immigrants.

            That means more workers than we would otherwise have. More workers mean more economic output. The CBO estimates that our national output, as measured by gross domestic product, will be 2 percent larger than it would otherwise be over the next decade.

            Some readers will dismiss a 2 percent larger economy as small beer. But small percents are big numbers for nations. More important, all of Europe, Russia, China and Japan will be suffering from populations that are aging and declining. Their working age population will be plummeting. The combination will impair their economic health and output. And they won’t have immigration to soften the blow.

            — In Texas the most powerful force for growth is, and always has been, a high level of immigration. Those immigrants have come from other states and other countries, but the history of Texas shows that newcomers have been a large part of our population, decade after decade, since 1840 (see table below).

            As you can see from the table, Texas was the eleventh most populous state by 1880 but had only one city in the top U.S. 100 cities, Galveston.

            Today, Texas is a fully urbanized state with 13 of the largest 100 cities. That includes two cities on our border, El Paso and Laredo. Today, El Paso is larger than Memphis, Baltimore, Boston, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Nashville and Denver, not to mention dozens of other cities.

            Does this mean we should allow immigration, willy-nilly?

            Not a chance.

            But we live on a hard, hungry planet. It is filled with people waiting to be reborn as new Americans. Immigration is a gift for everyone, both new arrivals and those lucky enough to have arrived earlier.

Sources and References:

— The Budget and Economic Outlook, 2024 to 2034

outlook: 2024 to 2034,” 2/7/2024: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59710

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Photo: Scott Burns

(c) Scott Burns, 2024