ImmigrationSkilled immigrants create U.S. jobs, report finds

A recently released report revealsthat immigrants with advanced degrees help create jobs for U.S. natives.

The study, titled “Immigrants and American Jobs” and conducted by the American Enterprise Institute and the Partnership for a New American Economy, analyzed U.S. Census data at a state-level to determine if immigrants with advanced degrees helped or hurt the U.S. economy.

The report concluded that immigrants create jobs for U.S. natives, but those with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) proved to be a particular boon to the economy.

From 2000 to 2007 for every 100 foreign-born workers in STEM fields, there was an additional 262 jobs for Americans.

The study also found that temporary foreign workers both skilled and unskilled helped to boost U.S. employment rates and that there was no evidence to indicate that immigrants hurt domestic employment.

The report comes shortly after the House passed a bill lifting caps on visas for highly skilled workers. Under the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, the limit on the number of immigrants admitted to the U.S. each year from a country would be removed.

The bill does not raise the total number of visas awarded, but would help to reduce wait times particularly in countries like China and India.