Show Notes
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
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