By Ellie Brahe
President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act of 1935 on the 50th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. America has always welcomed immigrants which has helped this country grow and prosper. The Social Security Act was also a stimulus for working Americans (native-born and immigrants) to have a more secure future. With Biden's open border policy, it is estimated that foreign-born immigrants account for 1.35 million people or 14.3% of the U.S. population. Since most illegals are "under the radar", Brookings Institute surmises the number may be more like 10.5-12 million.
Many Americans feel that the illegals are hurting the solvency of Social Security. However this may not be completely true. Usually under fraudulent Social Security numbers, they pay into the system with payroll taxes. Actually around $12 billion are paid in yearly by fraudulent credentials by these illegal immigrants and yet they are not able to collect later. Legal immigration has helped Social Security to stay solvent. About 79% of immigrants are work force age (16 to 64) as compared with native born Americans which makeup 61.5% of the workforce age group. At present the worker-to-beneficiary ratio is 2.7 to 1. Without an immigrant workforce, the ratio would likely be 2 to 1! By 2035, Americans (65 and over) will outnumber children (under 18) for the first time in our history, primarily due to low birth rates since the 1970s.
In July 2022, the unemployment rate was 3.5%. The government defines the " unemployed" as one who does not have a job but has actively searched for at least one job in the survey period. People who are not searching for work are not considered "unemployed". Looking at the True Rate of Unemployment which measures all "functionally unemployed" workers which include people looking for work but don’t have a full-time job, working part-time but want full-time work, or who earn below the poverty line,the rate is nearer 23.1 %.
Returning to the "Rule of Law" but also allowing for an easier path to citizenship would end the chaos. This would welcome legal immigrants into the workforce. The cessation of enhanced unemployment benefits would mean more Americans would return to the workforce. Revision of company benefit programs would entice workers. For a strong America and solvent Social Security, we need Americans and Legal Immigrants to help maximize our position in the global economy.