Yes. we are talking about 250.000 persons born all over the world to join with 4 million born each year to American parents here at home. It is difficult for me to understand why our rapidly expanding native population is listed by economists and other observers of the social scene as an unmitigated blessing. but an increase in our population onesixteenth as great looms in some peoples minds as a national calamity. In this connection. it must not be forgotten that only a portion of all immigrants--sometimes no more than a fourth or a thirdare jobseekers. But every immigrant is a potential customer for the products of American workers. And. of course. every employed immigrant is a producer who contributes to our total wealth. and with his earnings he becomes the customer for himself and his family. To put it another waywhat makes America the prosperous Nation that it is? It is the combination of its labor force and the material resources of the Nation brought together by creative management. The more there is of each of these factors. the greater is the wealth potential of the country. This is not just theory. The great waves of immigration to this country were always followed by great gains in our national prosperity. The key to continuing prosperity in the United States does not lie in protectionismneither the protectionism of tariffs nor of immigration restrictions. It lies rather in keeping our economic system properly balanced between production and consumption. so that the full production potential of the factors of production are properly matched by the consumption demands of our people. We do recognize. however. that a sudden. major increase in our labor force could cause dislocations.
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immigrant immigration immigrants