Immigrants & the Economy

The following are a list of resources about immigrants and the economy.

2009

Prosperous Immigrants, Prosperous Americans

December 08, 2009 - Marshall Fitz, Center for American Progress

Despite the critical importance of high-skilled immigrants to the nation’s economic success in a global economy, our current high-skilled immigration system is a two-fold failure. This paper digs deeper into the structural deficiencies and enforcement shortcomings in our high-skilled immigration system and offers a number of legislative solutions that will enhance labor market mobility and promote economic growth while advancing workforce stability through enforceable labor standards and protections.

The Foreign-Born Labor Force in the United States: 2007

December 07, 2009 - Eric Newburger and Thomas Gryn, U.S. Bureau of the Census

his analysis from American Community Survey data looks at the characteristics of the civilian foreign-born vs. native labor force population on topics that include educational attainment, occupation and industry. Foreign-born workers represent about 16 percent of the total labor force in the U.S.

The Economics and Policy of Illegal Immigration in the United States

December 02, 2009 - Gordon Hanson, University of California-San Diego for the Migration Policy Institute

Illegal immigration’s overall impact on the US economy is small. Low-skilled native workers are negatively affected, while employers gain. The small net gain that remains is tiny, and if we account for the small fiscal burden that unauthorized immigrants impose, the overall economic benefit is essentially a wash. Since US spending on enforcement activities is already very high, sizeable increases in enforcement resources could easily cost far more than the tax savings they generate.

Immigrants and the Economy

November 30, 2009 - Fiscal Policy Institute

In the 25 largest metropolitan areas of the United States, immigrants are contributing to the economy in very close proportion to their share of the population. The report looks at all immigrants—documented and undocumented, across the economic spectrum. Metropolitan areas with the greatest rise in immigrant share of the labor force also experienced among the fastest economic growth, the report finds.

The Disparity Between Immigrant Workers and unemployed Natives: Untying the Knot (Part III of III)

August 17, 2009 - Rob Paral & Associates for the Immigration Policy Center

Even during a time of economic recession and high unemployment, most native-born workers do not compete with most immigrants for the same jobs. Unemployed natives and employed recent immigrants tend to have different levels of education, to live in different parts of the country, to have experience in different occupations, and to have different amounts of work experience. As a result, they could not simply be "swapped" for one another.

A Conversation about the Economic Effects of Immigration on African Americans

July 14, 2009 - Gerald Jaynes in Perspectives on Immigration, Immigration Policy Center

Anti-immigrant groups have repeatedly tried to drive a wedge between African Americans and immigrants by capitalizing on the myth that immigrants take American jobs. In this piece for the Immigration Policy Center, Yale Professor Gerald Jaynes dispels the myth that immigrants take “black jobs” and instead suggests we find solutions on how to lift up all low-wage American workers.

Untying the Knot (Part II of III): Immigration and Native-Born Unemployment Across Racial/Ethnic Gro

May 19, 2009 - Produced By Rob Paral & Associates for the Immigration Policy Center

Tthere is little apparent relationship between recent immigration and unemployment rates among African Americans, or any other native-born racial/ethnic group, at the state or metropolitan level.

Untying the Knot (Part I of III): The Unemployment and Immigration Disconnect

May 19, 2009 - Produced By Rob Paral & Associates for the Immigration Policy Center

An analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau clearly reveals that there is little apparent relationship between recent immigration and unemployment rates at the regional, state, or county level.

The Economics of Immigration Reform: What Legalizing Undocumented Immigrants Would Mean for the U.S.

April 13, 2009 - Immigration Policy Center

This report is a wide-ranging review of academic and government data showing that comprehensive immigration reform, which includes a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants, would pay for itself in the form of increased wages, buying power, and tax contributions that would benefit all working people.

America’s Loss is the World’s Gain: America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Part IV

March 02, 2009 - Vivek Wadhwa et al., for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation et al.

In recent years, some observers have noted that a substantial number of highly skilled immigrants have started returning to their home countries. This paper reports on a survey of 1,203 Indian and Chinese immigrants who had worked or received their education in the United States and returned to their home country in order to determin Who these returnees are, what motivated their decision, and how they have fared since returning.

2008

Destination, New Jersey: How Immigrants Benefit the State Economy

December 31, 2008 - Ira N. Gang and Anne Morrison Piehl, Rutgers University

This report finds that immigrants make up 28 percent of the New Jersey workforce. They bring in almost one-quarter or 23 percent of all earnings statewide. More than 20 percent of business owners in New Jersey are foreign-born and they generate nearly one-fifth of the business income statewide.

Old Promises and New Blood: How Immigration Reform Can Help America Prosper in the Face of Baby Boom

November 25, 2008 - Dowell Myers for the Reform Institute

Highlights the essential role that immigration will play in the coming decades to strengthen the resilience of America’s economy against the three perils of an aging society: the entitlement crisis and fiscal debt; the workforce crisis; and the coming home sellers crisis.

An Essential Resource: An Analysis of the Economic Impact of Undocumented Workers on Business Activity in the US with Estimated Effects by State and by Industry

April 30, 2008 - The Perryman Group

If all undocumented workers were removed from the workforce, Americans would have to be induced into the labor pool or provided incentives to take jobs far below their current education and skill levels. For the US as a whole, the immediate negative effect would include an estimated $1.757 trillion in annual lost spending and $651.511 billion in annual lost output.

H-1B Visas and Job Creation

March 11, 2008 - National Foundation for American Policy

For every H-1B position requested, U.S. technology companies increase their employment by 5 workers. Sixty-five percent of technology companies said in response to the lack of H-1B visas they had "hired more people (or outsourced work) outside the United States."

2007

Driving Jobs and Innovation Offshore: The Impact of High-Skill Immigration Restrictions on America

December 06, 2007 - National Foundation for American Policy

U.S. technology companies and research labs are being forced to pursue offshore options to fulfill their personnel needs due to restrictions caused by the existing H-1B visa cap.

The Economic Impact of Immigration

November 29, 2007 - Immigration Policy Center

A compilation of facts from a range of studies on the costs and benefits of immigrants and immigration.

Undocumented Immigrants as Taxpayers

November 29, 2007 - Immigration Policy Center

Two-page summary pointing out that undocumented immigrant men have work force participation rates that are higher than other workers, that all undocumented immigrants are ineligible for most government services, and that they pay taxes as workers, consumers, and residents.

Working for a Better Life: A Profile of Immigrants in the New York State Economy

November 26, 2007 - The Fiscal Policy Institute

This report looks at fiscal impacts and integration of immigrants in New York. New York’s immigrants are responsible for $229 billion in economic output in New York State, a slightly larger share of the state's GDP than their share of the population.

Immigrants in Arizona: Fiscal and Economic Impacts

October 01, 2007 - Judith Gans, Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, The University of Arizona.

The net 2004 fiscal impact of immigrants in Arizona was positive by about $940 million. The 2004 total economic output attributable to immigrant workers was about $44 billion. This output included $20 billion in labor and other income and resulted in approximately 400,000 full-time-equivalent jobs.

Immigration and the Elderly: Foreign-Born Workers in Long-Term Care

August 29, 2007 - Walter N. Leutz in Immigration Policy In Focus, Immigration Policy Center

With our aging population and the growing need to provide long-term care to the elderly, immigrants will continue to play a significant role in the growth of the direct-care workforce.

Intellectual Property, the Immigration Backlog, and a Reverse Brain-Drain

August 22, 2007 - Vivek Wadhwa et. al., for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Immigrants were named as inventors or co-inventors in 25% of international patent applications filed from the United States in 2006. The huge backlog in available visas for employment-based immigrants in our current immigration system s a potential for a reverse brain-drain of skilled workers who contribute to U.S. global competitiveness.

Dollars without Sense: Underestimating the Value of Less-Educated Workers

May 08, 2007 - Immigration Policy Center

Refutes a deeply flawed Heritage Foundation "cost/benefit" analysis of low-skilled workers that fails to give an accurate portrait of the value of these workers to the economy as a whole.

Undocumented Workers Are Taxpayers, Too

April 10, 2007 - Oregon Center for Public Policy

This issue brief estimates the total contributions by undocumented Oregon workers in state income taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes. It also computes the approximate amount undocumented workers pay in federal Social Security and Medicare taxes.

How Immigrants Affect California Employment and Wages

February 27, 2007 - Giovanni Peri, Public Policy Institute of California

This paper finds that there is no evidence that the influx of immigrants over the past four decades has worsened the employment opportunities of natives with similar education and experience, and that immigration induced a 4 percent real wage increase for the average native worker between 1990 and 2004.

2006

UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN TEXAS: A Financial Analysis of the Impact to the State Budget and Economy

December 08, 2006 - Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Texas Comptroller

The absence of the estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in Texas in fiscal 2005 would have been a loss to the economy of $17.7 billion. However, local governments bore the burden of $1.44 billion in uncompensated health care costs and local law enforcement costs not paid for by the state.

American Made: The Impact of Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Professionals on U.S. Competitiveness

November 15, 2006 - Stuart Anderson, National Foundation for American Policy, and Michaela Platzer, Content First

The purpose of the study is to provide an objective overview of the impact of immigrant entrepreneurs and professionals on the U.S. economy.

Rethinking the Effects of Immigration on Wages: New Data and Analysis from 1990-2004

October 03, 2006 - Giovanni Peri in Immigration Policy In Focus, Immigration Policy Center

Immigrants and natives differ in their educational attainment, skill sets, and occupations, and they perform jobs that often are interdependent. An increase in the labor force stimulates investment. When these two factors are included in the analysis of immigration and wages, immigration has a positive effect on the wages of most native-born workers.

The Growth and Reach of Immigration

August 16, 2006 - Rob Paral, Immigration Policy Center

New data released by the Census Bureau on August 15 underscore the extent to which immigration continues to fuel the expansion of the U.S. labor force.

Growth in the Foreign-Born Workforce and Employment of the Native Born

August 10, 2006 - Pew Hispanic Center

Rapid increases in the foreign-born population at the state level are not associated with negative effects on the employment of native-born workers. The size of the foreign-born workforce, its relative youth and low education level are also unrelated to the employment prospects for native workers.

BUILDING A COMPETITIVE WORKFORCE: Immigration and the U.S. Manufacturing Sector

August 01, 2006 - David L. Bartlett, for the Immigration Policy Center

Shortages of skilled labor constitute the foremost challenge confronting U.S. manufacturers. Bridging the gap between the supply and demand for skilled workers requires new investments in the U.S. educational system and the formulation of immigration policies that respond to the labor needs of the U.S. economy.

Immigrants and Labor Force Trends: The Future, Past, and Present

July 31, 2006 - B. Lindsay Lowell et. al. for the Migration Policy Institute

Immigrants will form an increasing share of the workforce over the next thirty years. Foreign-born workers are well-represented in occupations predicted to grow most over the next decades, suggesting such workers will remain in demand.

The Impact of Immigration on Native Workers: A Fresh Look at the Evidence

July 31, 2006 - Julie Murray et. al., Migration Policy Institute

Despite the addition of recent research to an already large body of literature, the “competition question” is still up for debate.

The Debate over Immigration’s Impact on U.S. Workers and the Economy

June 29, 2006 - Stuart Anderson, National Foundation for American Policy (prepared for the Merage Foundation for the American Dream)

This paper finds that immigrants increase specialization in the economy, enhance the nation’s productive capacity, and aid innovation in the United States. The best evidence suggests that immigrants improve their own lot and that of their children by coming to America and exert little adverse impact on natives.

Open Letter on Immigration

June 19, 2006 - The Independent Institute (signed by more than 500 economists)

This letter, signed by more than 500 economists, states among other things that "the gains from immigration outweigh the losses."

Civic Contributions: Taxes Paid by Immigrants in the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area

June 05, 2006 - Randy Capps, Everett Henderson, The Urban Institute Jeffrey S. Passel, Pew Hispanic Center Michael Fix Migration Policy Institut

Immigrant households in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area paid taxes roughly in proportion to their share of the population in 1999–2000

IMMIGRANTS, SKILLS, AND WAGES: Measuring the Economic Gains from Immigration

March 13, 2006 - Giovanni Peri, Ph.D. for the Immigration Policy Center, American Immigration Law Foundation

Foreign-born workers do not substitute perfectly for, and therefore do not compete with, most native-born workers. Rather, the complementary nature of the skills, occupations, and abilities of foreign-born workers increases the productivity of natives, stimulates investment, and enhances the choices available to consumers.

2005

Economic Growth & Immigration: Bridging the Demographic Divide

November 15, 2005 - Rob Paral, Dan Siciliano, Benjamin Johnson, Walter Ewing, and Michael Chittenden, Immigration Policy Center

U.S. economic growth projections for 2002–2012 assume a growing supply of workers that likely will not be found in the native-born population alone. Absent a change in current immigration laws, undocumented immigrants will likely account for 1 in 8 new workers between 2002 and 2012. Rather than creating an orderly process by which needed workers enter from abroad, static limits on employment-based immigration divert labor migration to undocumented channels or clogged the family-based immigration system.

The Contribution of Legal Immigration to the Social Security System

February 06, 2005 - Stuart Anderson, National Foundation for American Policy

This paper discusses the positive relationship of immigration to the solvency of the Social Security system.

2004

Do Visa Delays Hurt U.S. Business?

June 02, 2004 - The Santangelo Group

This analysis, based on a survey of 734 members of eight leading international trade associations estimates that U.S. companies suffered $30.7 billion in financial impact between July 2002 and March 2004 due to delays/denials in the processing of business visas.

2003

Migrating to Recovery: The Role of Immigration in Urban Renewal

July 31, 2003 - Immigration Policy Center

Policymakers have realized that immigration is a key source of long-term economic vitality, particularly in urban areas experiencing population loss, shrinking labor pools and growing numbers of retirees.

Top 10 Immigration Myths and Facts

June 30, 2003 - National Immigration Forum

Dispels common myths about immigrants and immigration.

Immigration and poverty: how are they linked?

April 30, 2003

The growing immigrant share of the U.S. population was neither the sole, nor even the most important, factor in the relatively flat poverty rate from 1989 to 1999 in fact, poverty rates fell faster for immigrants than for natives.

2001

Immigrants and the Economy

November 30, 2001

Fact Sheet discussing the important role immigrants play in the economy.