Amy Traub

Appreciating the Economic Contributions of Hispanic Long Islanders

Back in 1980, fewer than one out of every twenty Long Islanders was Hispanic. Today, the proportion is nearly one in eight. The swiftness of this demographic change has fueled ethnic tensions, with both anti-immigrant sentiment and generalized racism against Hispanic Americans on the rise.

Some of the nation's most virulent anti-immigrant proposals have erupted from Long Island's elected officials, from Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy to local Congressional Representative Peter King, co-sponsor of the harsh and unworkable immigration bill H.R. 4437. At the same time, vicious hate crimes against Hispanics on Long Island have repeatedly made headlines.

Bridging the ethnic divide is a long process, but a new report published by the Horace Hagedorn Foundation may help Long Islanders begin to appreciate their Hispanic neighbors -- and their important contribution to the Long Island economy -- a bit more.

The report, which is not yet available online, finds that Long Island Hispanics contribute nearly a billion dollars a year in taxes and other revenues to local government, far more than they use in public services, producing a net benefit to the public of $202 million a year. Consumer spending by Hispanics produced an additional $5.7 billion impact on the Long Island economy, creating more than 52,000 jobs.

Critics have attacked the study for not singling out the impact of undocumented immigrants on Long Island's economy, but this critique misses the point: prejudice often fails to distinguish between legal immigrants, the undocumented, and Hispanics born in the United States. At the same time, the anti-immigrant proposals aimed at undocumented Long Islanders often adversely impact their U.S. born children and other family members who have legal status. It makes sense to analyze Hispanic Long Islanders as a community, and to recognize the positive impact they have on the larger Long Island community.

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Posted at 7:33 AM, May 10, 2007 in Economy | Immigration | New York | Racial Justice
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