[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 116 (Thursday, July 14, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H6613]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       DROP IN LEGAL IMMIGRATION

  (Mr. AUCHINCLOSS asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. AUCHINCLOSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an 
unaddressed contributor to labor shortages across our economy, a drop 
in legal immigration.
  Researchers at the University of California at Davis found that: ``By 
the end of 2021 there were about 2 million fewer working-age immigrants 
living in the United States than there would have been if the pre-2020 
immigration trend had continued unchanged.''
  This has hit certain industries hard, including food, hospitality, 
construction, transportation, and healthcare, particularly nursing, at 
a time when our economy is overheating in its recovery from COVID-19.
  A significant part of lowering cost and avoiding a recession is 
expanding the productive capacity of the economy. Until we address 
staffing shortfalls, we will continue to artificially constrain the 
supply side of our economy and drive up costs for everyday people. We 
must recognize and reverse this trend by clearing the visa backlog, 
documenting immigrants and Dreamers already here, and increasing caps 
for both immigration and refugee resettlement. It is not just a moral 
imperative; it is an economic one.

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