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I dont have a problem with people coming over here legally. But the illegal immigration has to stop. How many times have you heard that line from a Trump supporter? To hear them talk, they are fine with immigrants who come here legally just as they say their ancestors did. But are they really?

The United States is running well below the 2.1 babies per woman required to replenish our populations numbers by births alone. We are continuously growing older. Baby boomers have swelled the numbers of our retirees. We dont have enough workers to do the work Americans refuse to do in the fields and in our service sectors or enough skilled workers in tech industries to do the work that a sufficient number of Americans can do.

Among many other business groups, The United States Chamber of Commerce has been arguing for years that the United States needs more legal immigrants to sustain reasonable population growth here, support our large numbers of retirees, continue to grow our economy and compete with China. Immigrants are twice as likely to open a new business than the rest of our population. It is in our countrys best self-interest to increase the number of legal immigrants coming into the United States. It is hard to imagine a more America First policy than an enlightened, self-interested increase in legal immigration.

Nevertheless, during his presidency, former President Trump reduced the number of LEGAL immigrants allowed into the United States by 63%, suspended the entrance of highly skilled immigrants, and drastically reduced the number of family sponsored legal immigrants, most of whom come from Asia and South America. After all of the incessant hype about building a wall building a wall and controlling the border, according to the CATO Institute, former President Trump made absolutely no progress on reducing illegal immigration. Actually, deportations were the lowest as an absolute number and as a share of the illegal immigration population since ICE was created in 2003.

Still in 2020, 74 million Americans, about 10 million more than in 2016, voted for the former president without concern for the failure of these signature policies. Supporters insisted then that Trump was just against illegal immigration, not legal immigration. They still do. And they will continue to do so during the 2024 Presidential campaign.

TIM MANNELLO

Williamsport

Submitted by email

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Legal immigration | News, Sports, Jobs - Williamsport Sun-Gazette