WHAT IF SELF-DEFEAT IS THE POINT?:

Western countries are facing structural problems that immigration can solve. These include flagging social security institutions, revenue problems associated with aging populations, and a dearth of much-needed skills. Healthy levels of immigration help satisfy all three, resulting in a net good for a nation.

Both low- and high-skilled immigration have been shown to benefit the U.S. economy. A 2013 Congressional Budget Office analysis found that a proposed bipartisan bill to increase legal immigration significantly would have increased the average wage by 0.5 percent by 2033 and GDP by 5 percent. High-skilled immigrants, in particular, help accelerate innovation, bringing much-needed skills in the science and technology fields.

Immigrants not only increase the number of people employed; they also increase worker productivity in general. A study from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found that immigrants stimulate investment, in turn producing efficiency gains and boosting income for immigrants and natives alike.

None of the above is to say that immigration is completely without cost. It is true that immigration can harm the job prospects of unskilled workers. Statistics vary, but in the short term, immigration can negatively affect the wages of natives with no more than a high school-level education.

In general, however, immigration clearly benefits society as a whole. Just as we shouldn't shun new technologies that increase productivity and prosperity on a wide scale -- while also, as a side-effect, reducing demand for certain workers -- we should not forego the huge positives of immigration. In effect, rejecting immigrants to protect the wages of some native workers ends up punishing many more.

Immigration also benefits immigrants' home countries, especially developing countries.

Tweet   @brothersjudd