'Outdated' immigration system costing jobs, businesses, study says

Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald on Mar 19, 2025

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While the Trump Administration focuses on cracking down on illegal immigration, there is much that could be done to fix the “clogged and outdated” legal U.S. immigration system, and not doing so is costing the country in a big way, a new study shows.

According to the study, “Missing the Boat: Outdated Immigration Policies and Threats of International Competition,” released Wednesday by the Pioneer Institute and conducted by University of Wisconsin-Superior Professor Joshua Bedi, the U.S. economy missed out on over 500,000 jobs and 150,000 new businesses from 2013 to 2021 due to the sloth-like speed of its immigration processes.

“U.S. policymakers are not taking advantage of the plentiful opportunities these immigrants offer. The last major overhaul of immigration policy happened almost 40 years ago when President Reagan signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. U.S immigration policy reflects outdated thinking that has not kept pace with market developments,” the study reads, in part.

Legal immigrants, according to the study authors, are “80% more likely to start businesses” when compared to U.S.-born residents, and through those businesses help the economy via tax revenue, job creation, innovation, and economic development.

This is especially true in Massachusetts, according to the study, which is home to “a disproportionate number of Fortune 500 firms.”

“Half of these companies were founded by first- or second-generation immigrants. In total, these nine firms accounted for almost 900,000 jobs and $300 billion in revenue. More importantly, these companies include pioneers in innovation like Moderna, Raytheon Technologies, and General Electric,” study authors wrote.

In Boston alone, the study authors found, immigrants collectively spent $4 billion and contributed $1.3 billion in state and federal taxes. That $4 billion translates to more than 25,000 jobs, according to the study, and the more than 8,800 immigrant-owned small businesses in the city account for another almost 17,000 jobs and $3.7 billion in annual sales.

All of that is despite the fact that current laws make it difficult for immigrants to come to the U.S. and even harder for them to start businesses.

“While the U.S. visa system includes over 180 complicated entry routes, almost every visa restricts immigrants’ ability to work for themselves or someone else for at least several years,” study authors wrote.

Jim Stergios, executive director of the Pioneer Institute, said the Trump administration and the U.S. need to “walk and chew gum at the same time on immigration.”

“While the administration focuses on stemming illegal immigration, we must also fix the chaotic patchwork of rules blocking legal entrepreneurs — people ready to contribute to our economy and society,” he said in a statement.

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