Does emigration to the U.S. help reduce global poverty?
The short answer: No, it does not. The more than 1.2 billion people who are hungry or who live on less than $2 per day could never dream of raising the funds necessary to emigrate to the U.S. The three countries sending the most people to the U.S. are Mexico, China, and The Philippines – countries with relatively low birthrates (in some cases, lower than the U.S.). The worlds poorest countries with the highest birthrates in the world: 9 of 10 of which are located in Sub-Saharan Africa – contribute less than 1 percent of U.S. immigrants. Further, according to the UN, Brain Drain from emigration has detrimental effects to the countries sending immigrants. It is usually the most educated and ambitious people who leave their native countries. While the remittances emigrants send back to their native countries do have some economic impact, they do not even come close to the economic gains those countries could make if their emigrants stayed home. Does emigration to the U.S. help reduce glob
