The Reality-Based Economics of Immigration, with Jenny Hunt

Jenny Hunt is a Rutgers University professor, the former Chief Economist at the Department of Labor, and a key contributor to the gold-standard, 600-page consensus report on the economic consequences of immigration. Don’t worry, we’re going to summarize it together in 45 breezy minutes! Economists agree that immigration makes native-born Americans wealthier on average, expands the U.S. economy, and has positive long-term effects on government budgets. The main debate is over the impact of immigration on the wages of Americans without a high school education – and they would be helped far more by a stronger social safety net than by restricting immigration. So what’s the anti-immigrant movement really about…? ==Learn More== Amanda, Claire, and Doug express their own personal opinions on The Melting Pod. This episode was produced by Michael Palmer (⁠palmer.media⁠). Read more about the topics in this episode: * The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2017) * E Pluribus Unum: Findings from the Cato Institute 2021 Immigration and Identity National Survey - Cato Institute (2021) * Macroeconomic Implications of Immigration Flows in 2025 and 2026 - Brookings Institution (January 2026) * Rising Immigration Has Helped Cool an Overheated Labor Market - Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (November 2024) [take it with a grain of salt!] * On the Ballot: An Immigration System Most Americans Never Wanted - The Daily / New York Times (October 2024) [take it with an even bigger grain of salt!] * The Cuba-Born Harvard Economist Behind Trump's Immigration Crackdown - Washington Post (January 2026) * Immigrants Have Lower Lifetime Incarceration Rates than Native-Born Americans - Cato Institute (September 2025) * From Chinese to Italians and beyond, maligning a culture via its foods is a longtime American habit - Associated Press (September 2024) ==Give More== Want to help build a more sane and humane immigration system? Support hardworking organizations like these: National: * ⁠#AfghanEvac⁠ – working to ensure the U.S. keeps its promise to our Afghan allies * ⁠Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project⁠ – the country’s largest membership organization of asylum seekers, working together for change * ⁠Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI)⁠ – organizing and advocating for racial, social and economic justice * ⁠Haitian Bridge Alliance⁠ – providing humanitarian, legal, and social services * ⁠International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)⁠ - strategic litigation and advocacy to uphold the rights of people seeking safety * ⁠Justice Action Center⁠ - immigrant justice through litigation and storytelling Local: * ⁠Al Otro Lado⁠ - legal and humanitarian support to refugees, deportees, and other migrants in the U.S. and Tijuana * ⁠Catholic Charities Rio Grande Valley⁠ - providing assistance to the poor and most vulnerable populations in the Rio Grande Valley community * ⁠Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center⁠ - free and low-cost legal services to immigrants and refugees in West Texas, New Mexico, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico * ⁠Support an immigration service provider near you⁠ ==Chapters== (0:00:00) Introduction (0:01:15) Who is Jenny Hunt and what is a serial immigrant? (0:02:55) Is immigration to the U.S. high or low?  (0:07:41) What are the economic upsides of immigration?  (0:10:56) Winners and losers (but not by much) (0:13:08) That time Donald Trump cited the National Academy of Sciences (0:15:57) Second-generation immigrants do great in the USA  (0:17:52) What are the best policies to help the least educated Americans?  (0:20:08) That time David Leonhardt cited the National Academy of Sciences  (0:23:39) Doug’s best impression of Michael Barbaro  (0:25:57) What is the deal with economist George Borjas?  (0:28:59) Immigrants and housing costs  (0:31:08) The idea of “cheap labor”  (0:34:32) Why economists hate the term “labor shortage”...  (0:39:22) …and also zero-sum misconceptions about the world (0:42:05) Scapegoating immigrants over crime (0:47:03) The Great Spaghetti Controversy (0:47:50) Conclusion