US and European economies depend heavily on immigrants – decades of data reveal just how much

As anti-immigration rhetoric surges across Europe and the United States, it is vital that we look beyond the fearmongering and analyse what is really going on. While human mobility is often presented as a burden, the truth is quite the opposite. It is an essential driver of economic growth, demographic resilience and cultural cohesion.

Ignoring this fact is not just a miscalculation – it flies in the face of both empirical evidence and the democratic principles that modern societies claim to defend.

Migration is also not a 21st century anomaly. From the Mediterranean diasporas…

© La Conversation - mercredi 23 juillet 2025