CBO: Immigration bill would add 10.4 million more U.S. residents over the next decade

The Congressional Budget Office is out with its assessment of the Gang of Eight immigration bill currently being considered by the senate. It’s generally good news for the reformers, with the CBO predicting that the bill would cut deficits by $200 billion in its first ten years,largely because of one big factor — more people: ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

The Congressional Budget Office is out with its assessment of the Gang of Eight immigration bill currently being considered by the senate. It's generally good news for the reformers, with the CBO predicting that the bill would cut deficits by $200 billion in its first ten years,largely because of one big factor -- more people:

The Congressional Budget Office is out with its assessment of the Gang of Eight immigration bill currently being considered by the senate. It’s generally good news for the reformers, with the CBO predicting that the bill would cut deficits by $200 billion in its first ten years,largely because of one big factor — more people:

All told, CBO estimates enacting the bill would lead to an increase in the population in the United States of 10.4 million residents by 2023 and 16.2 million residents by 2033. Those changes would represent an increase in the U.S. population of roughly 3 percent by 2023 and about 4 percent by 2033. The overall population changes include increases of these amounts:

1.2 million people in 2023 and 1.7 million people in 2033 from changes to family-based immigration,

2.4 million people in 2023 and 5.1 million people in 2033 from changes to employment-based immigration,

7.1 million people in 2023 and 9.6 million people in 2033 from the two new merit-based immigration programs taken together, and

1.6 million people in 2023 and 2.8 million people in 2033 from changes to temporary worker programs and other temporary admissions.

That’s a population roughly the size of of Chile added to the U.S. by 2033. 

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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