Various reports and studies have been done showing just how beneficial immigration is to the American economy. From creating small businesses and jobs to reviving the housing market, throughout our history, immigration has by and large been beneficial to the United States.
A new study from the Partnership for a New American Economy shows just how much of a positive impact immigration has on our cities. The report analyzes U.S. Census and American Community Survey data to quantify the impact that immigration has on revitalizing communities across the United States through the creation or preservation of manufacturing jobs, the increase in housing wealth, and heightened civic engagement. Duke University Economist Jacob Vigdor conducted the analysis, and the report was produced in collaboration with Americas Society/Council of the Americas.
Among the key findings in the report are:
Immigration helps create and preserve manufacturing jobs:
- For every 1,000 immigrants living in a county, 46 manufacturing jobs are created or preserved that would otherwise not exist or have moved elsewhere. The more than 40 million immigrants currently in the U.S. have created or preserved 1.8 million manufacturing jobs nationally.
Immigration boosts the U.S. housing market:
- Immigration has resulted in an increase of more than $3.7 trillion in U.S. home equity. The average immigrant who moves to a community raises the total value of housing wealth in his or her county by $92,800.
Immigrants are injecting new life into cities and rural areas, making once declining areas more attractive to the U.S.-born population:
- For every 1,000 immigrants that arrive to a county, 270 U.S.-born residents move there in response.
The full report is available here.
As Congress continues to debate the issue of immigration, these findings further confirm the need for new immigration policies that take advantage of the economic benefits that immigration brings to the United States. Contact your elected officials and let them know just how much immigration reform will help your local community.
