Another Example of the Economic Benefit of Immigrants in the U.S.

The American Immigration Council, in conjunction with the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and The Borderplex Alliance, released a new report on November 10^th, 2022 analyzing the economic impact of immigrants in El Paso, Texas.[1]

Per the report, immigrants in El Paso contributed $8.6 billion to the metro area’s GDP in 2019.[2] In that time, immigrant households contributed over $1 billion to federal, state, and local taxes.[3] Immigrants were found to be 109.7% more likely to be entrepreneurs than U.S.-born community members and immigrant-owned businesses generated $285.1 million in income. In the El Paso area, 9,300 local manufacturing jobs are estimated to have been created or preserved by immigrants in the workforce. Without immigrants, these jobs are believed to have been eliminated or moved elsewhere.

This case study represents one of many that have demonstrated that immigrant communities represent a vital part of the U.S. economy. The Joint Economic Committee of the United States Congress released a similar paper in April 2021 demonstrating that immigrants were more likely to be considered the “essential” workers that were so necessary during the Covid-19 pandemic.[4]  The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities echoed a similar sentiment two years earlier by advocating for the importance of immigrant-heavy job fields during the Trump administration’s harsher public charge rule.[5] The current presidential administration has released blog posts demonstrating the economic benefits of extending permanent resident status to undocumented immigrants.[6]

This is by no means new information, but as rumors continue to swirl about an impending economic recession in the United States, it is important that we continue to recognize the great support immigrants provide to our economy.