Cristina Jimenez
In Current Economic Times Immigrant Contributions Continue to be Proven
The current economic crisis has led immigration restrictionists to blame immigrants for the country’s economic downturn. What restrictionists seem to be ignoring is that our economy relies on the contributions of immigrants.
And this week, yet another report indicates that immigrants are essential for economic growth. The report Destination NJ: How Immigrants Benefit the State Economy by Rutgers University concludes that New Jersey’s 1.7 million immigrants have no negative impact on the state’s economy. Here’re some other findings:
-Immigrants make up 28 percent of New Jersey’s work force
-Immigrants account for one-quarter or 23 percent of all earnings statewide and immigrant entrepreneurs own one-fifth of the businesses in the state
-Immigrants account for 20 percent of the state’s population, but make up a higher percentage of the workforce because more of them are of working age
Like New Jersey, other states share similar findings: New York, Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, and Maryland. Nationally, the conclusions are not different.
Immigration restrictionists may continue to scapegoat immigrants for our nation’s economic problems, but they won’t be able to hide or remove the facts from this debate.
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Posted at 1:47 PM, Dec 23, 2008 in
Economy | Immigration
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