Taxes and Spending Power
The contributions immigrants make as both taxpayers and consumers are indispensable to the U.S. economy. Nationally, immigrants earned $1.3 trillion in 2014 and contributed $105 billion in state and local taxes and almost $224 billion in federal taxes. This left them with nearly $927 billion in spending power, which they frequently used to purchase goods and services, stimulate local business activity, and create jobs in the broader U.S. economy.
Two years after the travel ban, a new study on the contributions made by Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants
Two years ago, on January 27, 2017, the Trump administration enacted a travel ban, which attempted to prevent visitors and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries from coming to the United States. After the ban was challenged in court, the ban was revised and today’s iteration prevents new visitors and… Read More
The Kansas City Star Commentary: Kobach, Yoder campaigns said immigrants are scary. Their loss proves we’re changing
Over the past few weeks, we have watched as the Trump administration’s nativist, anti-immigrant ideology has brought our government to a grinding halt. The partial federal shutdown has directly impacted the well-being of more than 800,000 federal workers, their families and the American people who rely on government services. But… Read More
Des Moines Register Opinion: For millennials, immigration policy is personal and drives political activism
Last spring, after graduating from Drake University, I spent months canvassing my congressional district for Progressive Turnout Project, an organization designed to get out the vote for Democrats. Like many millennials in the state, I was inspired by progressive candidates like Cindy… Read More
Immigrants Accounted for One-Third of Chicago’s Entrepreneurs in 2016
CHICAGO, IL – Immigrants represented 36 percent of Chicago’s entrepreneurs and generated $659 million in business income in 2016, according to a new report by New American Economy (NAE), produced in partnership with the Chicago Mayor’s Office of New Americans. The report also shows that immigrants also held nearly… Read More
Steve Rao’s December 2018 Interview with NAE Executive Director Jeremy Robbins for “Leaders and Legends”
Listen to the interview below from Saturday, December 1. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/01122018.mp3… Read More
Ranked: where in the US do immigrants integrate best?
Note: This article is republished from Apolitical’s website. Read the original piece here. Immigration policy — at least at national level — is increasingly getting stalled by divisive politics. In cities, by contrast, innovative approaches to integrating migrants are becoming widespread. But measuring how welcoming different cities are, beyond single… Read More
NAE Statement on Administration’s Proposed Change to Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility
Following the announcement of the Trump Administration’s proposed change to public charge ground of inadmissibility, New American Economy President John Feinblatt issued the following statement: “America’s great history is defined by immigrants – many of them initially poor – working hard, building a better life, and watching their children go on… Read More
Lancaster Online: Refugees, immigrants vital to local economy
Last week’s Sunday LNP did a nice job laying out the tension surrounding the issue of immigration and refugee resettlement and, more specifically, demonstrating its local impact on both people and organizations like Church World Service. The very next day, that tension escalated when the Trump administration announced that it… Read More
WCPO Cincinnati: Surprise: New study ranks Cincinnati one of nation’s most immigrant-friendly cities
CINCINNATI — Believe it or not, Cincinnati is among the 20 most immigrant-friendly big cities in the U.S. That’s according to a new index that measures the impact immigrants are having on the nation’s largest cities and how effectively they are integrating. Released this morning by New York-based … Read More
Foreign-Born Residents Contributed $3.3 Billion to Kent County GDP in 2016
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Immigrants in Kent County contributed $3.3 billion to the county’s GDP in 2016 and paid $214 million in federal taxes and $102 million in state and local taxes, according to a new report by New American Economy (NAE), in partnership with Samaritas, the City of… Read More
Household Income of Immigrants
In 2014, more than 72 percent of foreign-born population in the United States was working-aged, compared to less than half of U.S.-born residents. This reality allowed immigrants to earn well over a trillion dollars of income in 2014—a greater amount than their portion of the U.S. population overall.
Tax Contributions
A notable portion of the income earned by immigrants each year funnels directly back to our government in the form of tax revenues. In some states, immigrants contribute more than one out of every four tax dollars paid by local residents each year—supporting taxpayer-funded services like public schools and police departments.
States Where Immigrants Contributed the Largest Share of Total Tax Revenues, 2014
Spending Power
Spending power is the disposable income left to households after deducting their annual tax contributions. The $9.3 billion in total spending power held by immigrant led households in 2014 allowed them to hold considerable power as consumers. By spending on goods and services, immigrants strengthen the U.S. economy and provide jobs to American workers as well as the businesses dependent upon paying customers.
Foreign-Born Population’s Amount and Share of Spending Power by State, 2014
Medicare and Social Security
Our Social Security and Medicare programs are already facing serious financial challenges—a pattern expected to worsen as large numbers of Baby Boomers retire and leave the workforce altogether. While the United States had roughly 16 workers paying into our entitlement programs for every one retiree in 1950, that number is projected to drop to just two workers for every retiree by 2035.1 Immigrants are already playing an important role supplementing our entitlement programs: One NAE study found that between 1996 and 2011 immigrants contributed $182.4 billion more to Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund—the core trust fund in the program—than was expended on their care.
Sources:
1 “10 Truths About America’s Entitlement Programs, Address by R. Bruce Josten Executive Vice President of Government Affairs U.S. Chamber of Commerce,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce, accessed September 21, 2016. Available online.
Bolstering the Housing Market
By purchasing homes in neighborhoods formerly in decline, immigrants in recent decades have had a positive impact on U.S. housing values overall. From 2000 to 2010, each of the 40 million immigrants in the United States added, on average, 11.6 cents to the value of a home in their local county. That seems small, but it adds up. In fact, it resulted in immigrants growing U.S. housing wealth by $3.7 trillion during that period.2 Immigrants are also expected to play a key role buying up homes as baby boomers downsize in the coming years: Almost 30 percent of American homeowners were older than age 65 in 2014.
Sources:
2 Jacob Vigdor, “Immigration and the Revival of American Cities,” New American Economy, 2013 Available online.
Immigrant Subgroups
Regardless of where the immigrants came from, they contribute a tremendous amount of money to the U.S. economy as taxpayers and consumers. In this section, we show the amount earned and contributed in taxes by different ethnic and national origin groups within the foreign-born population.
Taxes & Spending Power of Major Immigrant Subgroups
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Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
