Five Reasons Why the U.S. Economy Needs Immigrants

New York, February 13, 2013 – Last night’s State of the Union, as well as the rebuttal, spoke to a bilateral desire to achieve immigration reform. As legislation moves forward, facts and figures continue to be presented about immigrants and their contributions to the U.S. economy. This fact sheet—the first in our series on immigrants and the economy—provides key data points and is intended to be a resource for journalists, policymakers, business leaders, and others.

It is a product of the AS/COA Hispanic Integration and Immigration Initiative, which promotes positive dialogue around the economic contributions of immigrants and Latinos across the United States. 

The fact sheet provides key data points on these five reasons why the U.S. economy needs immigrants:

1. Immigrants are more likely to be entrepreneurial and to start new businesses, which, in turn, create jobs for U.S.-born workers.
2. Both high- and low-skilled immigrant labor creates additional jobs across the U.S. economy.
3. Immigrants boost tax revenue, enlarge the taxpayer base, and help to keep down the price of goods.
4. As baby boomers retire, immigrants will be increasingly critical for continued economic growth and for ensuring a steady flow of new workers.
5. The majority of immigrants in the U.S. today are from Latin America, representing a huge potential economic opportunity due to the region’s burgeoning economic standing.

View more facts here.

Explore the portal of our working group, the Hispanic Integration and Immigration Initiative.

Go to Hispanic Integration Hub for our immigration blog as well as data and other new developments about immigrants in the United States today.

Visit AS/COA Online’s immigration reform guide for an overview of the latest immigration proposals, as well as analysis and multimedia. 

Americas Society is the premier organization dedicated to education, debate and dialogue in the Americas. Established by David Rockefeller in 1965, our mission is to foster an understanding of the contemporary political, social and economic issues confronting Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada, and to increase public awareness and appreciation of the diverse cultural heritage of the Americas and the importance of the inter-American relationship.

Council of the Americas is the premier international business organization whose members share a common commitment to economic and social development, open markets, the rule of law, and democracy throughout the Western Hemisphere.