Treasury Secretary Claims Immigration Policies Boost U.S. Jobs and Wages

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s immigration policies are contributing to increased job opportunities for American workers. Speaking to Fox News’ Jesse Watters, Bessent highlighted the positive impact of immigration enforcement on the U.S. labor market.

Bessent stated that “mass unfettered immigration has stopped,” mentioning approximately 1.82 million voluntary and mandatory deportations as evidence. He emphasized that this policy shift is expected to spur real wage growth for American workers.

“So prior to April, we saw real wage gains for working Americans every month during President Trump’s term. I think we’ll be back to that next month,” Bessent said.

He noted that immigration enforcement is channeling employment opportunities back to American citizens and bolstering the private sector, which he identified as the main driver of lasting wage growth. Bessent also touched on the administration’s commitment to reducing the size of the federal government, describing it as “right-sizing” after the expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The secretary shared President Trump’s view on government employment, stating, “Government jobs can be — we have some great government servants — but real wage growth does not come from government jobs. It’s the private sector.” He further explained, “There was this incredible blowout and government bloat, and it’s like the president says, ‘I could create 1 million, 2 million jobs if I wanted to blow up the government,’ but then the deficit goes up, productivity goes down.”

Bessent expressed optimism about a forthcoming productivity increase similar to the boom experienced in the 1990s.

Taylor Penley is an associate editor for Fox News Digital and a contributor to FOX Business and Fox Nation, covering media and culture topics.