Investing Wisely in the Future: How the U.S. Immigration System Can Better Meet U.S. Labor Market Needs

With the prospects for immigration reform greater than they have been in more than a decade and the U.S. economy slowly shrugging off the effects of the recession, the United States may be on the cusp of historic changes that make the immigration system a more effective tool for innovation, economic growth and the competitiveness of its firms—large and small. How Congress handles the employment-based visa issues will likely have critical and lasting impacts for U.S. businesses, the American worker, and the U.S. economy as a whole.

This event marks the release of MPI’s book, Immigrants in a Changing Labor Market, which brings together research from MPI’s Labor Markets Initiative—a policy-focused review of the labor-market role of immigration in the context of the economic crisis and recovery, concerns about the effect of globalization on U.S. competitiveness, competition for highly skilled migrants, and demographic and technological change. Chapter authors highlight several innovative policy responses during their presentations, followed by comments from the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.