Increasing immigration to the United States is worthwhile: immigrants boost economic activity, promote innovation, and improve the productivity of American workers. But the system is broken and the immediate costs to welcoming immigrants are not evenly shared. Given these factors, the United States must examine ambitious ideas to reform its immigration system. 

On December 7, The Hamilton Project will address reforms to the immigration system that would make it more equitable and increase economic growth. The event will feature introductory remarks by Hamilton Project Director Wendy Edelberg. The forum will also include two panel discussions featuring Ted Gayer (Niskanen Center), Jennifer Hunt (Rutgers University), Dane Linn (Business Roundtable), Anna Maria Mayda (Georgetown University), Eduardo Porter (Bloomberg Opinion), Kim Rueben (Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center), Eric Rodriguez (Unidos US), Tara Watson (The Brookings Institution), and John C. Yang (Asian Americans Advancing Justice).

The event coincides with the release of an interactive and two new Hamilton Project proposals that outline reforms to the green card system, visa system, and employment-based immigration as well as offer evidence in support of federal transfers to state and local governments to compensate for the near-term fiscal costs of immigration.

For updates on the event, follow @HamiltonProj on Twitter and join the conversation using #ImmigrationEconomics.

1:00 p.m. | Welcome  

Wendy Edelberg
Director, The Hamilton Project, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, The Brookings Institution  

1:05 p.m. | Roundtable discussion: How to make the immigration system more equitable 

Jennifer Hunt
Professor of Economics, Rutgers University 

Dane Linn
Senior Vice President of Corporate Initiatives, Business Roundtable 

Eric Rodriguez
Senior Vice President, Policy and Advocacy, UnidosUS 

John C. Yang
President, Asian Americans Advancing Justice 

Moderator: Ted Gayer
President, Niskanen Center 

1:50 p.m. | Roundtable discussion: How to improve immigration's fiscal benefits

Anna Maria Mayda
Professor of Economics, School of Foreign Service and Department of Economics, Georgetown University  

Kim Rueben
Sol Price Fellow, Director, State and Local Finance Initiative, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center 

Tara Watson
David M. Rubenstein Fellow, Economic Studies, The Brookings Institution  

Moderator: Eduardo Porter
Columnist, Bloomberg Opinion 

2:30 p.m. | Webcast adjourns