Xenophobia exists. It might be natural, because our hunter-gatherer ancestors had to be wary of outsiders in order to survive. Regardless of these tribal tendencies though, the data is undeniable; today, outsiders are good for society.
Immigrants and their children study and work harder than natives. They revitalize the economy by becoming doctors, researchers and entrepreneurs that make America a more pleasant place to live. Immigrants on average (in particular the legal ones) had to struggle to reach success, and so they deserve to “steal” our jobs. And create jobs as well.
According to a 130-page detailed study from the Pew Research Center, Americans born from recent immigrant parents (who arrived since the big wave of the 1960s) are better off financially than Americans born to native parents. They are also better off than the foreign born (their parents and their relatives who just moved into the country).
Americans born from legal immigrants are the least likely to be in poverty. Their rate of homeownership is on par with the general population. 36 percent of them have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 29 percent of the foreign born and 31 percent of the general population. The good performance in these socioeconomic indicators is probably a result of parents who sacrificed a lot for these children and pushed them to succeed.
Since the 60s, immigrant populations have been heterogeneous. They are 46 percent White, 35 percent Hispanic, 12 percent Asian and 4 percent Black. They have an above-average interracial marriage rate. A third of them live in the West. Recently, Asian Americans make up the biggest percentage of incoming immigrants (36 percent).
With the current immigration and birth trends, by 2050, more than half of the American workforce will comprise of immigrants and their children. One could wonder if xenophobia will still exist then.