Bessent credits Trump immigration policies with helping return jobs to Americans as wage gains resume

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued Tuesday that President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown is helping return jobs to American workers. He said the administration expects real wage gains to resume as deportations continue and private-sector hiring strengthens.

Bessent told Fox News' Jesse Watters that "mass unfettered immigration has stopped," citing what he said were roughly 1.82 million voluntary and mandatory deportations.

He said data indicates wage growth for American workers.

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"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 the administration's immigration enforcement has redirected employment opportunities to U.S. workers while strengthening the private sector, which he said is the primary driver of sustained wage growth.

"What's more important is these are private sector jobs," he added.

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"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."

The Treasury secretary also praised Trump's efforts to shrink the size of the federal government, saying the White House is "right-sizing" the workforce following an expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"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," he said.

"And I think we're in the middle — or on the cusp — of a big productivity boom just like we had in the '90s."