Here’s what research shows about immigration’s impact on an economy

Controlling immigration was one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s primary arguments during the 2016 election, with him campaigning to limit entries into the U.S. and proposing building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.  According to the United Nations, nearly 50 million people in the U.S. are foreign born, which accounts for about 15 percent of the total population. That percentage lies in between Canada and the U.K., where immigrants represent 22 percent and 13 percent, respectively.In 1970, foreign-born individuals made up less than 5 percent of the American population.A report from the International Monetary Fund found a “1 percentage point increase in the share of migrants in the adult population increases GDP per person in advanced economies by up to 2 percent in the longer term.”