An immigration activist believes the surge in settlers arriving the United States is helping the country recover from the pandemic and creating revenues amid a tight labor market.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Monday, Abel Nunez, executive director of Central American Resource Center, which is a nonprofit Central American immigrant rights organization found in 1983, said that immigrants are needed for the U.S. economy to be vibrant.
"There are reports, for example, from the Immigration Research Initiative that states that the new asylum seekers in the next two years, for every 1,000 workers, they will generate 22 million dollars in aggregate wages, which means spending power, which means tax revenue. So those are the things that we need to ensure that our economy is strong. And we also have to remember that our population growth is not, it's negative at this moment. And we're going to need new immigrants because we are not producing enough workers in the United States to keep pace with what we are going to need with our economy as we move into the future," said Nunez.
Noting that many American people are turning to freelance and short-term jobs, he urged to provide immigrants with a regular path to employment.
"I think that always immigrants find spaces where they are welcomed. We know that agriculture has always been big, the service industry has been big. Construction, like you mentioned earlier in your piece, has been big. It continues to be. But we have to remember that our economy is changing and we're moving into a gig economy where even native-born Americans are forced to go into Uber drive. And actually, a lot of Venezuelans are finding a very profitable way to enter into the food delivery business. We're seeing that in New York, we're seeing that in Washington D.C.. And that is because it's easy entry, it is good money. But it's not in a formal way. And so what we need to be able to do besides giving them permit is also to create a formality around how they're entering these industries. So one that they're not exploited, but two that they're conforming to the rules of how things need to be done," he said.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, the country's labor force will grow by 5.2 million people from 2023 to 2034, largely due to "a surge in immigration," resulting in an increase in gross domestic product of about 7 trillion dollars and an increase in revenues of 1 trillion dollars.
Immigrants needed to boost U.S. economy: immigration activist
Significant progress was made in truce negotiations on the Gaza conflict on Saturday, according to Egyptian media reports on the same day.
A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday to engage in peace talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
However, Times of Israel reported on Saturday evening that a Hamas source said the day of negotiations saw "no progress" and "had ended".
Israel responded to the Egyptian report on Sunday, stating that it had not yet received the contents of the latest agreement, and regardless of whether a temporary ceasefire is achieved, the Israeli army would attack Rafah.
A Hamas official stated that the group would not agree to a ceasefire unless it includes a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. They also accused Israel of attempting to reach an agreement without ending its "aggression and occupation of Gaza", according to reports from Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Another Hamas official mentioned that Hamas is currently considering a "phased" ceasefire agreement with Israel, saying that Hamas is willing to release 33 detainees in the first stage in exchange for a temporary truce. However, according to Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV, the proposal is still under discussion.
A senior Israeli official said that Hamas continued to demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, which was "hindering the possibility of an agreement between the two sides." Additionally, the official stated that Israel would dispatch a delegation to Cairo for negotiations only if it observed "positive progress" regarding the release of the detainees.
On Saturday, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation quoted sources as stating that the Israeli side had not yet received the latest agreement. Contrary to reports in the Arab media, the outlet said Israel "will not agree under any circumstances" to a detainee-release deal by ending military operations in Gaza. With or without a temporary ceasefire, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will enter the southern Gaza city of Rafah and destroy what remains of Hamas there, the outlet reported.
The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip from the ongoing Israeli attacks had risen to 34,683, the Health Ministry in Gaza announced on Sunday.
During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army carried out three military operations in Gaza, killing 29 Palestinians and injuring 110 others, the ministry said in a statement.
This brought the total death toll to 34,683 and injuries to 78,018 since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted last October, according to the ministry.
Significant progress made in Gaza truce negotiations: Egyptian source
