Thinking Ahead About Our Immmigrant Future: New Trends and Mutual Benefits in Our Aging Society

There are two stories now being told about immigration and the future of America. Each has some basis in fact,although one is based on newer trends and is more optimistic than the other. These stories differ in their answers tothree crucial questions: whether immigration to the United States is accelerating out of control or is slowing; how muchimmigrants are assimilating into American society and progressing economically over time; and how importantimmigrants are to the U.S. economy. The pessimistic story—in which immigration is portrayed as increasingdramatically and producing a growing population of unassimilated foreigners—draws upon older evidence. But morerecent data and analysis suggest a far more positive vision of our immigrant future. Immigration has not only begun tolevel off, but immigrants are climbing the socio-economic ladder, and will become increasingly important to the U.S.economy as workers, taxpayers, and homebuyers supporting the aging Baby Boom generation.

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