The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) recently published paper challenging the claim of immigration advocates that our current level of mass immigration is necessary to prevent our society from substantially aging. This is necessary, they maintain, to provide adequate numbers of younger workers to keep the economy going and to sustain Social Security and Medicare. CIS replies that:
“There simply is little debate, immigration cannot stop or even greatly slow population aging in low-fertility countries like the United States at the current levels or even with a substantial increase. The only way immigration could have a very large impact on the age structure of the United States is if it were historically unprecedented and ever-increasing. There are a number of reasons for this:
“First, immigrants age just like everyone else over time. Second, their fertility is not that much higher than the native-born and is declining. Third, immigrants arrive at all ages, and add to the population across the age structure. Fourth, by the time the U.S.-born children of immigrants join the labor force, a significant share of their immigrant parents will have reached retirement age, thus adding to both the number of workers and retirees.”
Read more at cis.org