A more equitable distribution of the positive (and negative) fiscal impacts of immigration

The United States as a whole economically benefits fromimmigration, and the federal government enjoys positivefiscal impacts from immigration. But the fiscal cost of immigration is disproportionately paid for by state and localgovernments, particularly in those areas receiving less-educated immigrants who are new to the country. In a Hamilton Project proposal, authors Wendy Edelberg of The Hamilton Project and the Brookings Institution and Tara Watsonof the Brookings Institution and Williams College offermechanisms to redirect some of the federal gains from immigration toward those communities that bear more of itsnear-term costs. Specifically, Edelberg and Watson’s piece:• Proposes a method to ensure transfers go to communities that face higher fiscal costs as the result ofimmigration policy.• Relates the size of the transfers to the best availableevidence on the effects on revenues and spendingfrom immigration flows.• Minimizes bureaucratic costs by piggybacking onexisting flows between the federal government andsubnational governments via Title VII Impact Aidin schools and Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers (FQHC), which will also make these immigration-related transfers visible and transparent.

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