Illegal Immigration Crackdown Could Impact Social Security Fast
Reports have emerged warning about the potential effects of the Trump administration’s push against illegal immigration. The crackdown could potentially weaken Social Security’s finances and accelerate its insolvency.
Depletion of Social Security’s Trust Fund
An analysis by Social Security trustees suggests that the Social Security trust funds are likely to be exhausted by 2034. An automatic 19% cut in benefits would be triggered once these funds run out and no longer supplement payroll tax collections.
Unauthorized Immigrants and Social Security Taxes
The Penn-Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) estimates that unauthorized immigrants contributed approximately $24 billion to Social Security taxes in 2024, even though they cannot receive benefits without legal residency.
Deportation Scenarios and Their Impact
The PWBM has analyzed the impact of different deportation scenarios and found that each could potentially accelerate the depletion of the Social Security trust fund by about six months. Read more about the projected depletion of Social Security trust fund here.
Further Losses Due to Deportation
The analysis projects a net loss of funds due to deportation of unauthorized immigrants over the next 10 and 30 years under three different scenarios. These losses will have significant implications for illegal immigration and Social Security’s finances.
Sign-Up for ‘Trump Card’ and Its Impact on US Citizenship
The revelations of unauthorized immigrants’ substantial contributions to Social Security coincide with the rise in $5M ‘Trump Card’ signups for fast-track US citizenship.
Legal Immigration and US Economy
Another report by the conservative advocacy group Unleash Prosperity underscored the significance of lawful immigration for the U.S. economy over the next several decades. This is especially important because of the demographic challenges the US is facing.
Immigration and Innovation
Immigrants play a crucial role in the innovation of new technologies and entrepreneurship. Also, their children typically earn higher incomes than their parents and the overall U.S. population, partly due to higher rates of obtaining graduate or professional degrees.
Immigration and US Workforce Growth
The Unleash Prosperity study found that immigrants have significantly contributed to the growth of the U.S. workforce. They also play a fundamental role in starting new businesses, with nearly half of all Fortune 500 companies being started by immigrants or their children.
Immigrant CEOs in the ‘Magnificent Seven’
About half of the CEOs of the so-called “magnificent seven” companies are immigrants or children of immigrants. Among them are notable figures like Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, and Sundar Pichai.
Unleash Prosperity’s Take on Immigration
Unleash Prosperity’s report concludes that the U.S. needs a generous and well-targeted legal immigration system to meet its demographic challenges. The aging of the native-born population makes the role of immigration more critical than ever.
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