As President Donald Trump prepares to deport millions of immigrants who are in the country illegally, a new national study shows undocumented workers pump billions of dollars into Connecticut’s economy each year.
The New American Economy, a coalition of mayors and business leaders who support “sensible” immigration reform, found the nearly 130,000 undocumented Connecticut residents pay $397 million in annual federal, state and local taxes, account for $3.1 billion in household income and represent $2.7 billion in spending power.
“This research proves what we’ve known for years: Immigrants are a boon to our local economy and in every community in America,” said Lucas Codognolla, an undocumented Stamford resident and executive director of CT Students for a Dream.
The new immigration policies announced last week could potentially result in deporting 11.4 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. The Trump administration has stopped short of targeting more than 700,000 people who entered the country as children and are protected by immigration orders issued by former President Barrack Obama.
Opponents of Trump’s policies said the new rules are draconian, and the New American study bolsters arguments that peaceful, law-abiding undocumented immigrants provide value to American society and should not be deported.
Read the full story from the CT Post: “Study shows value of undocumented immigrants“
