SUMMARY

President Trump touts a sharp drop in illegal entries to the country, but a Cato Institute analysis shows legal immigration has fallen even more dramatically, with 132,000 fewer people being admitted per month through legal pathways. Liz Landers discussed what’s behind those numbers with the study’s author, David Bier. He's the director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute.

View the transcript of the story.

NOTE: If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this See, Think, Wonder activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think about? What would you want to learn more about?

News alternative: Check out recent segments from the News Hour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

1. What organization released a report on the impact of President Trump's immigration policies?
2. Why has legal immigration dropped dramatically during Trump's first year?
3. When did illegal border crossings begin to decrease, according to the report?
4. Who is being blocked from claiming asylum at the border?
5. How might the reduction in legal immigration impact the economy, according to David Bier?

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• What do you think will be the impact on the U.S. economy and long-term growth if immigration is vastly reduced in the United States?
• What policies do you think the federal government should adopt to manage immigration into the United States?

Media literacy: Guest David Bier is director of immigration studies for the Cato Institute. What is the Cato institute, and why do you think they prepared and released the report described in this segment?

WHAT STUDENTS CAN DO

Recent reporting from the CDC shows that birthrates in the United States are declining. Experts now expect the population to begin shrinking in the U.S. in the near future, unless birthrate or immigration rate trends are reversed. Watch the segment below, then discuss as a class —

• What are some of the risks or dangers of a declining population?
• Why do you think the Trump administration is aggressively cutting immigration rates in a declining population is a future risk?
• What policy would you like to see implemented to prevent the impact of a declining U.S. population?

The Cato Institute is a think tank that supports legal immigration. Teachers: You can find lesson plans developed by Cato's SPHERE education on immigration policy here.

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