“By the Numbers”: FAIR Analysis of the Biden-Harris Immigration Plan Reveals Very BIG Numbers
(September 21, 2020, Washington, D.C.) — The Biden-Harris campaign has issued a detailed plan for how they would carry out immigration policy if elected in November. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has analyzed the Biden-Harris policy proposals in order to project the real-world consequences they impose on Americans. The report investigates how these policies might translate into real numbers of new immigrants who could be admitted to the United States and the costs associated with what would likely be an unprecedented surge of new migration.
According to FAIR’s analysis, By the Numbers: How the Biden/Harris Immigration Platform Will Fuel a Staggering Increase of Immigrants and Population Growth, the proposals offered by the candidates could entitle a staggering 52 million new immigrants to eventually settle in the United States. This dramatic increase would eclipse the entire current foreign-born population of the country.
The lax approach to illegal immigration offered under the Biden-Harris plan – halting construction of border security fencing, eliminating detention for most illegal border crossers, scaling back worksite enforcement, and limiting deportation to only violent criminals – would also carry some large numbers with dollar signs in front of them. The likely increase in illegal immigration would run up the costs of services and benefits to illegal aliens and their U.S.-born children to more than $200 billion annually. That increase would represent a 50 percent jump in the already onerous annual costs to American taxpayers.
“Campaigns are an opportunity for candidates to present to the voters their vision on important policy matters. To their credit, the Biden-Harris campaign has done just that on immigration policy,” noted Dan Stein, president of FAIR. “But policy proposals are not just words on paper. If implemented, they will have quantifiable results. They can mean more legal and illegal immigration or less; greater costs to taxpayers, or less.
“It is important to get beyond rhetoric and look at the real-world implication of policy proposals if they become law, so that voters can understand the choices they are making,” said Stein.
Among the potential consequences of FAIR’s analysis of the Biden-Harris immigration plan:
- 52 million total new legal and illegal immigrants eventually entering the country due to these policies.
- 43 million people made eligible for family-chain migration under an extensive amnesty program.
- At least 2.4 million new immigrants under various non-family-based migration categories.
- At least 20 million illegal aliens residing in the country due to reduced border enforcement and detention, and highly constrained interior enforcement.
The complete analysis, By the Numbers: How the Biden/Harris Immigration Platform Will Fuel a Staggering Increase of Immigrants and Population Growth, can be found here.
Contact: Matthew Tragesser, 202-328-7004 or [email protected]