Wall Street Journal Reports Sharp Decline in Immigration to New York City

On Labor Day, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that immigration to New York City dropped 45% between 2016 and 2019. This statistic is based on an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau population estimates by William Frey of the Brookings Institution.

Two reasons cited for the sharp decline are the administration’s restrictive immigration policies and pandemic-related delays in visa processing.

Bitta Mostofi, Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, is quoted expressing concern about how this trend will negatively impact the city’s strength and economy: “We are very much a city of immigrants. . . . You cannot look at the history of our city and not see the impact and footprint that immigrants have had on building our companies, our infrastructure, our small businesses and the culture of who we are.”

IE