People generally immigrate to the US for one or more of the following reasons:

1. They perceive there is greater economic opportunity for them and their children in the US. This might be due to being transferred by their company, or because they are trained in a field (e.g. technology) that is in greater demand in the US (e.g. resulting in H1B workers). More often, it is because they are escaping poverty, and almost anything is better than where they come from.
2. They are fleeing from poverty, starvation and/or threats to their safety in their native countries. 
3. They want to join family who is already in the country for one of the above reasons.

These are all historically legitimate and accepted reasons for US immigration. In fact, it is the reason most of us live here! So what are the objections? The answer appears to be:

1. Racism: the perception that allowing immigration of people from non-European countries will change the racial balance in the US from majority white to majority “other” (i.e. no majority, or majority non-white). Thus, white people “lose control” of the country. This is also referred to as “Replacement Theory”.
2. The fear of crime perpetrated by poor immigrants. 
3. The fear that these immigrants will “steal” jobs that would otherwise go to whites (“me, my family and friends”)

Are any of these legitimate objections?

According to the 2020 US census, white Americans are the racial and ethnic majority, with non-Hispanic whites representing 57.8% of the population. Hispanic and Latino Americans are the largest ethnic minority, comprising 18.7% of the population, while Black or African Americans are the second largest racial minority, making up 12.1%.

So the first fear is unfounded. The only chance of whites losing majority status would be a combination of low birth rate and low white immigration for an extended period, AND an extreme and undemonstrated solidarity of the “non-white” vote against them. So knock that one off the list!

How about crime? Well, it turns out that, compared to undocumented immigrants, US-born citizens are over 2 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and over 4 times more likely to be arrested for property crimes. In addition, the proportion of arrests involving undocumented immigrants in Texas was relatively stable or decreasing over this period. So knock that one off the list, as well!

How about jobs? The unemployment rate for foreign-born persons in the United States was 5.6 percent in 2021, down sharply from 9.2 percent in 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The jobless rate of native-born persons also declined sharply; it was 5.3 percent in 2021, down from 7.8 percent in 2020. As of September 2022, the overall unemployment rate was 3.5%. So native-born citizens are consistently better off than immigrants, and the jobless rate overall is historically low. Not a legitimate concern. 

On the other hand, it is generally accepted that there are two drivers of economic growth and prosperity as defined by GDP:

1. Increased productivity, driven primarily by technology, and
2. Population growth

The 2020 US birth rate was 1.64 births per woman. This is substantially below the replacement rate of roughly 2.1 (the extra 0.1 accounts for early deaths and childlessness). So we need immigration to keep our economy going, and to pay for social services to the elderly! 

In summary, it is vital that we address our immigration policies to sustain our prosperity.