On Monday, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari criticized a Senate bill backed by President Trump that seeks to curb legal immigration by 50 percent over the next decade.
 
“Do we want economic growth, or not?” Kashkari said to an audience at the Rotary Club in Sioux Falls, according to Reuters. “Just going to math, if a big source of economic growth is population growth, and your population growth slows, either because you restrict immigration or because you have fewer babies, your economic growth is going to slow… You can either accept slower growth; you can spend a lot of money to subsidize fertility—child care etc., very expensive—or you can embrace immigration. That’s math.”
 
Notably, Kashkari commended South Dakotans for welcoming immigrants to their state. Data from the U.S. Census suggests Sioux Falls’ foreign-born population has grown from roughly 8,500 residents in 2009 to more than 11,000 as of 2015—a roughly 30 percent increase.
 
“You guys have done a pretty good job of embracing immigration and that is a source of economic growth vibrancy,” Kashkari said.
 
This month, TCB analyzed the potential effects that changing immigration policies could have Minnesota’s economy and businesses, particularly farmers and food processors.
 
Additionally, in June, Kashkari spoke with TCB about banking, bailouts and Donald Trump.