Recommendation

The administration should limit low-wage immigration while enabling immigrants with graduate degrees in physical sciences, computer science, and engineering to remain in the United States.

Details

Although it does expand the supply of cheap labor, low-skill immigration limits investments in productivity-enhancing technology. In contrast, immigration in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math) has boosted U.S. innovation capabilities. The administration should take steps to reduce low-skill immigration while continuing to allow foreigners with graduate degrees in STEM, especially from allied nations in order to minimize national security risks, to work in the United States.

Keep reading:

▪ Robert D. Atkinson et al., “A Techno-Economic Agenda for the Next Administration” (ITIF, June 2024), https://itif.org/publications/2024/06/10/a-techno-economic-agenda-for-the-next-administration/.