White House adviser Kevin Hassett told CBS News this week that the "incredibly contentious" debate surrounding immigration issues in the U.S. is incongruous with the economic impact that immigrants are having.
"The share of the labor force of the U.S. that is immigrants, legal and illegal, is about the lowest share of any developed country," Hassett told CBS News' Major Garrett on "The Takeout" podcast this week.
"We're right down there with Japan and France in terms of not having a lot of immigration. And yet immigration is this incredibly contentious issue," Hassett said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, immigrants comprised 17.1 percent of the U.S. labor force in 2017, with Hispanics accounting for 47.9 percent of that figure.
"That fact that we have a relatively small share of immigrants in our society compared to other countries, and we can't get our politicians to work it out, is why voters are frustrated," Hassett told CBS.
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