"If you open the borders, you have people from Vietnam, China, Mexico, and Latin America coming in"

[Tom Rinaldo]

43. It is the Democratic position that immigration "improves our economy."

That is the most effective comeback to anti-immigrant xenophobes who want to keep immigrants out of America, and it always has been. Whether we talk about immigrants who work hard at essential jobs that few Americans are drawn to doing, such as migrant farm work, or whether we talk about the historically proven entrepreneurial talent track record of immigrants to America, it always centers on how immigration helps America grow and prosper, and then means improving our economy. The difference between the Republican and Democratic world view is that Republicans argue that only immigrants with highly specific advanced work skills and/or preexisting wealth help our economy grow. Democrats argue in response that immigrants of all economic backgrounds help our economy grow.

We welcome the immigrant spirit that evidences in new arrivals working two jobs at minimum wages if necessary in order to provide a better life for their children. We do not argue that poor immigrants have nothing to offer America other than their poverty. And all of this is separate from the issue of refugees. Democrats embrace offering refuge to those who are fleeing war and oppression, no matter how poor they may be. AND we site statistics and studies that show how well refugees ultimately integrate into our economy and "help it grow".