Upworthy: Immigrants make America great, and one organization has the data to prove it

President Donald Trump has been busy making changes to our immigration system — for better or for worse.

Between the border wall, “deportation force,” and travel ban, Trump is taking bold action to address our country’s broken immigration system. His focus on removing undocumented immigrants and making it more difficult to enter the country legally, however, may actually make things a lot worse.

Immigrants are essential to the U.S. economy, and deporting millions of them will only weaken us as a nation.

Trump’s assumption is that immigrants are a drain on the country and its resources, but the data just doesn’t back him up. A new resource from New American Economy, a group of more than 500 mayors and business leaders across the political spectrum, makes a strong case for immigration reform by highlighting just how much immigrants do contribute to the economy.

Protestors speak out against Trump’s immigration policies at the Milwaukee County courthouse in Wisconsin on Feb. 13, 2017. Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images.

In 2014, immigrants in the U.S. earned $1.3 trillion and paid more than $329 billion in taxes. Immigrants play a vital role in making America function. In other words: Without immigrants, we’re sunk.

Read the full story from Upworthy: “Immigrants make America great, and one organization has the data to prove it”
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