In recent months, conservative leaders including Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have cynically used pressure at the U.S.-Mexico border to denigrate immigrants and refugees fleeing the border harsh conditions in Latin America and other parts of the world. They have promoted fearmongering about immigrants as a threat to distort U.S. policy surrounding the war in Ukraine and the federal budget.
Some of this anti-immigrant sentiment has spread among voters. But it bears no relation to the realities of another pre-election concern: the economy, to which non-citizens are making an increasingly important contribution. These posts are made all the more poignant after it was revealed that the maintenance workers who tragically lost their lives in the cargo ship accident at the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore were hard-working immigrants from Mexico and Central America.
We owe immigrant workers – and immigrant entrepreneurs – a far better solution than the current vitriol for their essential role in our economy and way of life.
According to researchers at the University of Southern California, in 2019, immigrants made up nearly 30% of the population of the Golden State (the world's fifth largest economy) and contributed more than $100 billion in taxes and $291 billion in spending Perfomance. Data from New York shows similar economic impact: In 2021, immigrant New Yorkers paid $61 billion in taxes and contributed $138 billion in purchasing power. Throughout the pandemic, immigrants have been among the key groups of workers nationwide, helping keep economies afloat while others were in lockdown.
In many ways, non-citizens are a net positive for our country and its developing economy. Nevertheless, this group, which includes a large proportion of the undocumented population, is at significantly higher risk of employment than citizens. For example, California immigrants are overrepresented in high-risk occupations and are twice as likely as citizens to work for hourly wages below the prevailing “living wage,” according to a 2022 study by UC Merced researchers. Such conditions can be found in large parts of the country.
In addition, many innovations in our country are driven by entrepreneurs and investors with a migration background. According to the data, immigrants founded more than half (55%) of American startup companies valued at $1 billion or more, and nearly two-thirds (64%) of billion-dollar companies were founded by immigrants or children of immigrants co-founded a 2022 analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy. Our next generation of economic leadership will likely be shaped by non-citizen entrepreneurs – street vendors, franchisees, founders and venture capitalists alike.
In recent years, California has slowly but surely become a leader in policies that respond to the needs and potential of non-citizens. It has provided federal benefits for immigrants, including driver's license eligibility, college scholarships, low-income tax credits, direct cash assistance during the pandemic and medical health insurance. Additionally, the state has a new program, Expanding Venture Capital Access, to create a more inclusive venture capital ecosystem (the first investment was in Unshackled Ventures, a fund that invests in immigrant-founded startups and where one of us works) .
More can be done. In addition to California's existing programs and investments, which should be replicated or at least considered across the country, we need stronger job protections for non-citizens, such as unemployment insurance. Undocumented immigrants should have access to federally administered food stamp benefits and cash assistance for elderly and vulnerable immigrants paid for by their tax dollars.
Finally, some municipalities in California and elsewhere allow non-citizens to vote in local elections that directly impact their opportunities and well-being. Our nation's earliest principles emerged from resistance to taxation without representation. Hard-working immigrants who pay taxes, do essential work and obey our laws should not be barred from participating in local and state elections that impact their quality of life and our shared prospects for a future of prosperity and progress.
The best of our country's history has kept doors and minds open to the many proven contributions immigrants have made through their hard work and big dreams. What we should really fear is what our country might look like if we reject this rich tradition of inclusion and justice.
Henry AJ Ramos is a senior fellow at the New School Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy. Angelica Salas is executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles and a trustee of the California Wellness Foundation. CM Samala is Head of Community and Culture at Unshackled Ventures.
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