Immigrants Create Almost a Quarter of New York State Economic Output ($229 billion) - Fiscal Policy Institute Report: Immigrants in New York State

Immigrants added $229 billion to the New York State economy in 2006, according to a new report by the Fiscal Policy Institute. That represents 22.4 percent of the state’s Gross Domestic Product, according to the report, Working for a Better Life: A Profile of Immigrants in the New York Economy (PDF) [executive summary PDF].

“These figures should wipe away any impression that immigrants are holding the New York economy back,” said David Dyssegaard Kallick, senior fellow of the Fiscal Policy Institute and principal author of the report. “In fact, immigrants are a central component of New York’s economic growth.”

Immigrants make up 21 percent of people living in New York State—37 percent in New York City, 18 percent in the downstate suburbs, and 5 percent in upstate in 2005, according to the report. Immigrants also make up 31 percent of people who commute into New York State to work.

“Immigrants’ contribution to economic output in New York State is about the same as their share of the population,” notes James Parrott, chief economist of the Fiscal Policy Institute. “That’s because immigrants start businesses, invest in New York, and work in jobs all across the economic spectrum—the same as other New Yorkers.”

“This report clearly proves that immigrants fuel growth and vitality in every economic sector and every geographic area in New York,” said Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of The New York Immigration Coalition. “For us to maximize immigrant contributions to the economy, we must stop treating immigrants like criminals and terrorists. Instead, we need to change our immigration laws so that undocumented immigrants can come out of the shadows of the underground economy and future immigrant workers can immigrate legally to fill jobs that our economy requires.”

The report also finds that immigrants are subject to the same economic forces as everyone else in New York’s highly polarized economy. “We can see that low-wage workers—both immigrants and U.S.-born—are not sharing in the economy’s growth,” said David R. Jones, president and CEO of the Community Service Society of NY. “The right answer is to enforce basic standards that are good for all low-wage workers, not to pit one group of workers against another.”

“This study finds that over one third of all children growing up in New York State are part of an immigrant family,” noted Alan B. Lubin, executive vice president of the New York State United Teachers. “This stunning statistic shows how immigrants and their families are interwoven into the fabric of our schools and our communities.”

“And it doesn’t stop at high school graduation, either,” he continued. “On the other side of the classroom, the teaching side, the study shows that immigrants contribute mightily toward our higher education efforts.”

Joe Gomez, an electrical contractor from Albany, came from Cuba in 1961 as a political refugee. “For me, America was the land of opportunity. I found success, and I think I can say at this point that I have given back,” he said. “I’ve helped fellow immigrants, yes, but I’ve also been able to contribute to the entire community, strengthening the local economy, providing jobs and building new homes and businesses.”

Over time, the report shows, immigrants become fully participating members of New York’s communities.

* The majority of immigrants living in New York State speak English, and their English gets significantly better over time.
* Immigrants are entrepreneurs. The number of Hispanic- and Asian-owned businesses is growing rapidly, one rough indication of immigrant entrepreneurship.
* About two thirds of immigrants in the upstate and downstate suburbs own their own homes.
* Fully 34 percent of New York’s children are growing up in families with at least one foreign-born adult—8 percent in upstate New York, 31 percent in the downstate suburbs, and 57 percent in New York City.”*

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