CBS, we actually have an immigrant shortage based on tougher immigration policies

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In the middle of the last decade, the U.S. was adding about 1 million immigrants a year. But those numbers, which slowed down during the Trump administration, hit a brick wall when COVID-19 erupted in 2020. This decline reflects both tougher immigration policies and the pandemic which reduced legal immigration and caused some recent immigrants to return to their native countries.. By one calculation, the U.S. workforce today has 2 million fewer immigrants than it would have if immigration had continued at pre-pandemic levels. That gap is especially being felt in low-paying industries, such as leisure and hospitality, food services retail, and health care.  But the current low levels of immigration are unlikely to reverse quickly given the ongoing pandemic and backlogs in the U.S. immigration system that have millions waiting for a visa or green card. A dearth of immigrants could also mean a less dynamic job market overall. Not only do immigrants tend to be younger than the U.S. population overall, they are more likely to work and three times as likely to start businesses, by one estimate.

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