Every single job went to undocumented immigrants. The data says otherwise.
At the Economic Club of New York, Donald Trump repeated a claim he has made several times in recent months: that every job created under the Biden administration went to undocumented immigrants. Labor data contradicts this directly, showing measurable growth among American-born workers alongside a larger rise in foreign-born employment — a category that encompasses legal immigrants, refugees, and naturalized citizens as well. The episode reflects a recurring tension in democratic life between the stories political figures tell about the economy and the more ambiguous, harder-to-attribute reality that economists describe. How citizens weigh those competing narratives may matter as much as the numbers themselves in the months ahead.
- Trump told the Economic Club of New York that 100% of Biden-era job growth went to undocumented immigrants — a claim he has now made repeatedly since June.
- Labor data shows American-born employment rose 6% under Biden, directly undermining the assertion, while the foreign-born category includes legal immigrants and refugees, not only undocumented workers.
- Economists warn that attributing labor market shifts to any single administration is genuinely difficult, given that pandemic disruptions and global macroeconomic forces shaped outcomes under both presidents.
- Despite real job growth and falling unemployment under Biden, 50% of Americans report feeling financially worse off — a perception gap that gives misleading economic claims fertile ground to take hold.
- The 2024 election messaging battle over the economy is being fought less over verified data than over lived experience, and the distance between those two things may prove decisive.
Donald Trump stood before the Economic Club of New York and declared that every single job created under President Biden had gone to undocumented immigrants. It was a claim he had already made in June, in August, and again the week before — each repetition lending it a kind of borrowed authority. The numbers, however, do not support it.
Labor data shows that American-born workers gained roughly 6% in employment during Biden's tenure, while foreign-born workers grew by 22%. That gap is real, but the foreign-born category is a broad one — it includes legal immigrants, naturalized citizens, refugees, and temporary workers alongside undocumented individuals. The Labor Department does not separate those groups, making Trump's specific claim impossible to verify and, based on available evidence, false.
The wider employment picture complicates both sides of the debate. Total non-farm employment grew from 15.2 million in February 2020 to roughly 15.8 million — a 4.4% increase that extends beyond pandemic recovery. Unemployment fell 2.1 percentage points under Biden. During Trump's presidency, by contrast, both American-born and foreign-born employment contracted, and unemployment rose 1.7 points — though economists note that the pandemic's disruptions were global, not the product of any single administration's choices.
Trump's record does hold genuine advantages in some areas: stronger stock market performance and lower inflation. Federal debt rose 39% under Trump and more than 25% under Biden — differences worth honest examination. But the claim that Biden's job growth belongs entirely to illegal immigration does not survive contact with the data.
What may matter more than the data, however, is perception. Only 19% of Americans say they are financially better off since Biden took office, and just 27% believe his economic policies have helped. Whether voters credit the numbers or trust their own experience — and which story they find more compelling heading into November — remains the deeper and more consequential question.
Donald Trump stood before the Economic Club of New York on Thursday and made a sweeping claim about the American job market: every single job created under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, he said, had gone to undocumented immigrants who entered the country illegally. It was a stark assertion, delivered with certainty. It was also false.
This is not the first time Trump has made this argument. He has repeated the claim multiple times in recent months—in June, in August, and again last week—each time insisting that job growth under Biden amounts to nothing more than a vehicle for illegal immigration. Other Republicans have echoed the same refrain, often softening it slightly to say the growth was "virtually 100%" from undocumented workers. The repetition lends the claim a kind of weight, but the underlying numbers tell a different story.
According to labor data, the American-born workforce expanded by roughly 6% during Biden's tenure. Foreign-born workers—a category that includes legally immigrated people, naturalized citizens, refugees, temporary workers, and undocumented immigrants all together—grew by 22%. The gap is real and significant, but it does not support Trump's claim. The foreign-born category is a blunt instrument; the Labor Department does not break it down to show how many of those workers are undocumented versus legally present. Without that granularity, it is impossible to say whether the increase reflects a surge in illegal employment or simply more legal immigration and refugee admissions.
The broader employment picture under Biden extends well beyond a temporary bounce-back from the pandemic. In February 2020, the United States had 15.2 million non-farm employees. By the time of this article, that number had grown to approximately 15.8 million—a 4.4% increase in total jobs. The unemployment rate has also declined, falling 2.1 percentage points to 4.3% under Biden, whereas it rose 1.7 percentage points during Trump's presidency, climbing from 4.7% to 6.4%.
Trump's own economic record presents a more complicated picture than his current rhetoric suggests. During his administration, employment among foreign-born workers actually decreased by 1.6%, while American-born employment fell about 1.4%. Both groups contracted. Yet Trump and his supporters now claim superiority on the economy, and polling suggests many Americans agree with them on that perception. Only 19% of Americans say they are financially better off since Biden took office, while 50% report feeling worse off. Just 27% believe Biden's economic policies have helped the economy, compared to 49% who think they have hurt it.
Economists caution against drawing simple lines between presidential policy and labor market outcomes. Felix Koenig, an economics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, recently told Forbes that attributing labor market changes to a specific administration is "very difficult." The forces shaping employment—the 2020 unemployment spike, subsequent labor shortages, broader macroeconomic trends—were not unique to the United States. Some of what happened under either president may simply reflect global economic currents rather than domestic policy choices.
The stock market did perform better under Trump, and inflation was lower during his tenure. Federal debt rose 39% during his presidency and has climbed more than 25% under Biden. These are real differences worth examining. But the claim that Biden's job growth is entirely attributable to undocumented immigration does not withstand scrutiny. The American-born workforce has expanded measurably. The economy has added jobs beyond pandemic recovery. Whether voters credit Biden for that, or whether they feel the benefits in their own lives, remains a separate and equally important question.
Notable Quotes
We have an economic disaster on our hands. 100% of the jobs created under this administration has gone to illegal migrants.— Donald Trump, Economic Club of New York, September 2024
It's very difficult to say whether changes in the labor market are the result of a certain presidential administration. Macroeconomic factors driving labor trends were not unique to the U.S.— Felix Koenig, economics professor, Carnegie Mellon University
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Trump keep repeating this claim if the data contradicts it so clearly?
Because it resonates. It connects immigration anxiety to economic anxiety in a single, simple narrative. Even if the facts don't support it, the emotional logic—that outsiders are taking what should belong to citizens—is powerful.
But doesn't the foreign-born category include legal immigrants and refugees? How does that fit into the claim?
Exactly. That's the gap. The data shows foreign-born employment grew faster, but we don't know how much of that is undocumented versus legal. Trump uses that ambiguity to fill in the worst-case scenario.
So the American-born workforce actually grew under Biden?
Yes, by about 6%. It's not zero. It's not negative. But that fact doesn't fit the narrative, so it gets left out of the speeches.
What about the perception problem—that 50% of Americans feel worse off despite job growth?
That's the real puzzle. The economy by most measures is strong. But people don't feel it. Maybe wages haven't kept pace with inflation. Maybe they're comparing themselves to a different baseline. Or maybe they just don't trust the numbers they're being told.
Is it fair to say both sides are cherry-picking data?
Both sides claim victory, yes. But there's a difference between emphasizing what went well and claiming something is 100% true when the data shows it isn't. One is spin. The other is fabrication.