Officials at the Federal Reserve are weighing into the political debate over immigration. This debate is at the heart of the increasingly fierce battle between Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. On Thursday, a top official with the Federal Reserve claimed that there is little evidence to show that Americans are losing jobs because of immigrants and that immigration actually causes massive economic growth.
The head of the Federal Reserve in Philadelphia, Patrick Harker, claims that the addition of more immigrants to the US would assist with the lifting of the participation rate for the labor force. This has declined due to the financial crisis. Recovery has been at only a modest rate, even though a more dramatic recovery has been seen in the broader jobs market. Workforce participation has fallen sharply since the late 90s and Harker believes that immigrants may be the ‘missing ingredient’ to turn around sluggish economic growth.
The prepared remarks were made by Harker at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia. They appear to have been a deliberate rebuke against Trump’s suggested policies. Trump’s anti-immigration stance has become a key aspect of his White House campaign and includes his stated desire to build a wall between the US and Mexico.
Trump has criticized the Federal Reserve in the past, with the controversial, real estate billionaire accusing them of being a politicized central bank. These accusations have been denied by the bank’s policymakers.