A shortfall in immigration has become an economic problem for America
The real crisis is not border crossings but a shortage of new arrivals
Almost every day for four months buses carrying asylum-seeking migrants have disembarked near the heart of American power, just half a mile from Capitol Hill. So far more than 6,000 people have arrived on these buses, sent by the governors of Arizona and Texas in a none-too-subtle jab at what they see as President Joe Biden’s weakness on immigration. It is the latest chapter in a decades-long fight over how to control entries from Mexico.
This border crisis has come to dominate media coverage and political debate about immigration in America. All the while, another crisis of the opposite sort is brewing: a broader decline in immigration. The resulting shortfall in the population is already making it harder for companies to find workers and threatens to do more damage to the economy. But whereas unauthorised border crossings are a perennial controversy, the drop in overall immigration has barely registered in Congress.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline "Not coming to America"
United States July 30th 2022
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- America’s legal-immigration system remains gummed up
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- Democratic hopes for a big spending bill are revived
- Questioning America’s approach to transgender health care
- America’s response to monkeypox has been underwhelming
- Democrats are overdue for a new generation of leaders
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