Economics of Immigration

How does immigration help the economy? Immigrants make a significant impact on state and local economies. Learn more about the contributions immigrants make as workers, taxpayers and consumers.

Recent Features

  • Blog

Immigrant Workers Enhance and Expand the U.S. Economy

Over the years, more and more economists have come to the conclusion that immigrant workers “complement” the native-born majority of the labor force by bringing different sets of skills and different demographic profiles with them, both of which enhance and expand the economy as a whole.

All Economics of Immigration Content

  • Fact Sheet

Bad for Business: How Anti-Immigrant Laws Can Hurt the Kansas Economy

Publication Date: 
February 2, 2014
While proponents of harsh immigration laws in Kansas claim that passing these laws would save the state money, experience from other states shows harsh immigration-control laws will actually cost the...
  • Fact Sheet

The Economic Blame Game: Immigration and Unemployment

Publication Date: 
June 12, 2013
One of the most persistent myths about the economics of immigration is that every immigrant added to the U.S. labor force amounts to a job lost by a native-born worker, or that every job loss for a...
  • Special Report

Allies, Not Enemies: How Latino Immigration Boosts African American Employment and Wages

Publication Date: 
June 12, 2013
Latino immigrants and African Americans fill complementary roles in the labor market—they are not simply substitutes for one another.
  • Special Report

Gendered Paths to Legal Status: The Case of Latin American Immigrants in Phoenix, Arizona

Publication Date: 
May 29, 2013
This special report by Cecilia Menjívar and Olivia Salcido for the Immigration Policy Center looks at immigration law, which on its face appears gender neutral, but actually contains gender biases...
  • Fact Sheet

The Advantages of Family-Based Immigration

Publication Date: 
March 14, 2013
Since the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1965, legal immigration to the United States has been based primarily on the family ties or the work skills of prospective immigrants...
  • Fact Sheet

Citizenship Day 2012: Realizing the Potential of the Immigrant Vote

Publication Date: 
September 17, 2012
For many aspiring immigrants, achieving citizenship means full participation in civic life—and that means the right to vote. Every year, thousands of immigrants become naturalized U.S. citizens and...
  • Fact Sheet

Fatally Flawed: FAIR Blames Immigrants and Children for Maryland’s Financial Problems

Publication Date: 
June 12, 2012
In a case of very creative accounting, the nativist Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is blaming immigrants and children for Maryland’s fiscal woes. In a new report, FAIR lumps...
  • Special Report

Latinos in North Carolina: A Growing Part of the State's Economic and Social Landscape

Publication Date: 
March 21, 2012
North Carolina has become a hub of Latino migration to the South. While many think this migration came suddenly, North Carolina has, in fact, been welcoming and integrating Mexican and other Latino...
  • Fact Sheet

Pew Analysis Highlights Immigrant Integration and Economic Contributions

Publication Date: 
March 7, 2012
Immigrants integrate into U.S. society over time and they contribute to the U.S. economy. These crucial yet often-overlooked facts are illustrated well by the Pew Hispanic Center’s latest...
  • Fact Sheet

Government Agencies and E-Verify: Erroneous Results and Misuse Cost Workers Their Jobs

Publication Date: 
March 2, 2012
Making E-Verify mandatory—even for government agencies and contractors—could threaten the jobs of U.S. citizens because there are errors in the system and because employers misuse it. E-Verify is...
  • Blog

The Opportunity Immigration Presents to the Changing US Economy

September 5, 2019

The U.S. economy is changing—and immigration can play a major role in how it looks in the future. But how immigration shapes the future of the U.S. economy and its workforce is dependent on a...

  • Blog

Immigrants and Their Children Founded Almost Half of All US Fortune 500 Companies

July 30, 2019

From the highest levels of corporate America to virtually every level of the labor force, immigration creates new jobs in the U.S. economy. The businesses founded by immigrant entrepreneurs...

  • Blog

Report on Asian American and Pacific Islander Immigrants Highlights Education, Economic Opportunity Gaps

June 14, 2019

The post Report on Asian American and Pacific Islander Immigrants Highlights Education, Economic Opportunity...

  • Blog

U.S. Policies Make It Harder for Mexican Graduates to Participate Fully in the Workforce

May 24, 2019

The post U.S. Policies Make It Harder for Mexican Graduates to Participate Fully in the...

  • Blog

Record Low U.S. Birth Rate and Retirements Will Result in Contracting U.S. Prosperity, If Unaddressed

April 26, 2019

The U.S. population is aging quickly. Baby boomers are retiring en masse and Americans are having far fewer children, on average, than any other time in our history. The median age in this country...

  • Blog

Tuition Equity Policies for Immigrant Students Continue to Advance at the State Level

April 22, 2019

Attending a four-year public college or university is out of reach for many students without U.S. citizenship. But thanks to a growing number of new state laws—which make certain students eligible...

  • Blog

Immigrants’ Taxes Help Save the Social Security System

April 15, 2019

The survival of the nation’s Social Security system depends upon the taxes paid by each new generation of workers. As older workers enter retirement and draw upon Social Security, the continued...

  • Blog

Taking H-4 Spouses out of the US Workforce Would Hurt Women the Most

March 19, 2019

The Trump administration is set to issue a proposed rule that would prevent the spouses of certain high-skilled temporary foreign workers from getting jobs while they are in the United States. The...

  • Blog

How Rural Communities Are Embracing Immigrants and Thriving as a Result

January 15, 2019

Small and rural towns across America are increasingly faced with the opportunities and challenges that come with settling new immigrants. In nearly 3,000 rural American towns, the immigrant...

  • Blog

How to Engage in an Immigration Debate Where Everyone Has Their Own Facts

December 6, 2018

Advocates of immigrant rights decry working in what feels like the age of the fact-free debate. A debate driven in large part by leaders willing to cherry-pick facts on immigration that encourage...

  • Press Release

New Study on Immigrant Integration Compares and Ranks the United States, Canada, and Europe

February 28, 2011

Washington D.C. - In cooperation with the Immigration Policy Center, the British Council and the Migration Policy Group release a new study today which reviews and

  • Press Release

State Legislators Attack Fundamental Constitutional Values

January 5, 2011

Washington, D.C. - Today, State Legislators for Legal Immigration (SLLI), a coalition of state legislators, revealed their plan to challenge the

  • Press Release

State Lawmakers from Critical States Speak Out in Favor of DREAM Act

December 16, 2010

Washington D.C. - Today, a group of state legislators from Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Texas, and Utah participated in a briefing to share their support for fe

  • Press Release

FAIR's Distorted Fiscal Snapshot of Unauthorized Immigrants

July 6, 2010
Today, Fox News is reporting on data provided to them by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) which amounts to a highly misleading fiscal snapshot of the costs allegedly imposed on U.S. taxpayers by unauthorized immigrants.
  • Press Release

Implementation Costs of SB 1070 to One Arizona County

April 23, 2010

Washington D.C. - Today, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer may sign into law a bill that has the potential to sink her state much deeper into the red than it already is.

  • Press Release

How Much Will Arizona's Immigration Bill (SB1070) Cost?

April 21, 2010

Washington, D.C.- Frustrated by Congress' failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform, states across the country continue considering legislation that relies heavily on puniti

  • Press Release

The Bay State's New Senator Gains Diverse Constituents

January 20, 2010

Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown will shortly step into the Senate seat held for nearly half a century by one of the most loyal champions of immigrants to ever sit in Congress.

  • Press Release

New Report Highlights Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

January 7, 2010

For Immediate Release

New Report Highlights Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

  • Fact Sheet

Naturalization in the United States

Publication Date: 
January 19, 2024
This fact sheet provides an overview of the benefits of obtaining naturalized citizenship in the United States, as well as information about the naturalized population and those who meet the...
  • Blog

States Facing Worker Shortages Are Helping Migrants Secure Employment with New Resource Clinics

December 8, 2023

Many migrants, after being released from government custody, resettle in interior communities. These individuals and families often need immediate support in the form of housing, food, and...

  • Fact Sheet

New Americans in Santa Fe County

Publication Date: 
November 15, 2023
New research from the American Immigration Council shows that immigrants in Santa Fe County paid over $122 million in taxes and held over $365 million in spending power in 2019.
  • Blog

Map the Impact: Immigrants Make Up Over 18% of the Total US Population Growth

November 13, 2023

Written by Robin Lundh, Research Manager and Anna Shepperson, Research Associate. Immigration—long central to the American experience—has dominated news coverage in recent years. Between 2016 and...

  • Press Release

American Immigration Council Maps the Impact of Immigrants With New Data on the United States and All 50 States

November 13, 2023
  • Blog

Offices of New Americans Meet with Biden Officials to Advance Immigrant Inclusion

November 10, 2023

States hoping to provide support to their immigrant and refugee residents are taking part in the Office of New Americans (ONA) network. This network has established a forum for state policy...

  • Fact Sheet

New Americans in Greater Salem

Publication Date: 
October 10, 2023
New research from the American Immigration Council shows that immigrants in Greater Salem paid over $200 million in taxes and held over $536 million in spending power in 2019. The new report, New...
  • Blog

Communities Celebrate Their Commitment to Welcoming and Belonging During Welcoming Week

September 22, 2023

Co-Authors: Rich André, Asma Easa, Micaela McConnell, Paloma Ramos Last week, communities across the United States participated in Welcoming America’s Welcoming Week. The annual campaign has...

  • Advocacy

Testifying on the Positive Economic Contributions of Immigrants in the U.S. and the American Immigrant Workforce

Publication Date: 
September 20, 2023
The American Immigration Council appeared before Congress to address the economic contributions of immigrants in the U.S. and the American economic system.
Cover for Immigrants in East Texas report
  • Fact Sheet

Immigrants in East Texas

Publication Date: 
September 20, 2023

New research from the American Immigration Council highlights the crucial role immigrants play in the East Texas region as taxpayers, consumers, entrepreneurs, and more. Collectively, immigrants...

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