Northern Plains News points us toward an Economic Policy Institute report on the necessary role immigration plays in preserving America’s economic growth. Short form: as long as Americans keep getting older and having fewer babies, we have to invite immigrants to boost our workforce, hours worked, and economic output. Cutting immigration cuts GDP:
Josh Bivens, “The U.S.-Born Labor Force Will Shrink Over the Next Decade,” Economic Policy Institute, 2025.10.07.
Given this limited scope for policy to boost labor force participation rates, the only other margin along which the labor force could grow is immigration. But the Trump administration is clearly looking to shrink, not expand, net immigration flows. Given this stated policy preference, we also calculate what halving net immigration flows or reducing them to zero would do to CBO’s growth forecasts (for details on…
