Immigration & Welfare

I BEGAN to investigate the link between immigration and welfare in 1987. Since that time, I have given countless presentations at universities and think tanks. Invariably, someone will come up after the seminar and say something like: “I believe the data and I agree with you that there is a problem. But the problem is not immigration; the problem is welfare.” This response has recently been enshrined by Cato Institute analysts as their rallying cry against the accumulating evidence on immigrant use of welfare: “Immigration Yes, Welfare No!”

When I first heard this response a decade ago, it struck me as odd. Yes, there are things that are wrong with the welfare system. But if the social experimentation of the past few decades has taught us anything, it is that we have no clue about how to tackle poverty. In view of our resounding defeat in the War on Poverty, why would we consciously pursue policies-such as our current immigration policy-that exacerbate poverty?

GJ

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George J. Borjas

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I BEGAN to investigate the link between immigration and welfare in 1987. Since that time, I have given countless presentations at universities and think tanks. Invariably, someone will come up after the seminar and say something like: “I believe the data and I agree with you that there is a problem. But the problem is not immigration; the problem is welfare.” This response has recently been enshrined by Cato Institute analysts as their rallying cry against the accumulating evidence on immigrant use of welfare: “Immigration Yes, Welfare No!”

When I first heard this response a decade ago, it struck me as odd. Yes, there are things that are wrong with the welfare system. But if the social experimentation of the past few decades has taught us anything, it is that we have no clue about how to tackle poverty. In view of our resounding defeat in the War on Poverty, why would we consciously pursue policies-such as our current immigration policy-that exacerbate poverty?