Immigrants gild the Golden State
More than one-in-four Californians are immigrants, and nearly half are Latino or Asian, according to the Washington-based Immigration Policy Center (IPC). Those two immigrant communities form a large part of the state’s economy, providing one-third of the state’s purchasing power and owning more than one-quarter of all businesses in the state.
Immigrants pay $5.2 billion in state income tax annually, according to IPC’s “New Americans in the Golden State: Immigrants, Latinos and Asians Indispensable to California Economy.” California’s Latino and Asian consumers wielded $411.8 billion in purchasing power in 2008. Immigrants also provide 36% of Los Angeles County’s consumer purchasing power and 40% of the county’s total economic product. Their presence also contributes to wage gains for native-born Californians, according to IPC. “With its large immigrant population and current economic woes, California is in the belly of the anti-immigrant beast,” IPC Director Angela Kelley said in a statement. “Yet, while many restrictionists and anti-immigrant groups are exploiting the recession and using immigrants as scapegoats, an undeniable truth lies beneath their feeble facts: California’s immigrants and their children climb up the socioeconomic ladder over time and most Californians have economically benefited as a result.”
View “New Americans in the Golden State” on IPC’s Web site.
