September 2, 2009 - Economic and Political Contributions of Tennessee’s New Americans Revealed in New Report
New Data Shows Immigrant Buying Power in 2008 Nearly $8 Billion
For Immediate Release
September 2nd, 2009
Nashville, TN- In a climate hungry for positive news, a report released today highlights the indispensable contributions that Tennessee’s newest Americans are making to the state's economic recovery. A report released today by the nonpartisan Immigration Policy Center reveals the growing economic and political clout of the state’s diverse immigrant population. Entitled “New Americans in the Volunteer State,” the report uses newly available data to demonstrate how all Tennesseans reap the benefits of having immigrants in our communities and workforce.
“This new study is further proof of what most economists already know: Tennessee’s New Americans are a driving force behind our state’s emerging economic recovery,” says Stephen Fotopulos, director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. “The numbers tell the story, and this is a story of how New Americans and their full participation in the community are essential to the future of our great state.”
Highlights from the report include:
- Immigrants make up 4.1% of Tennessee's total population, and a third of them are naturalized citizens who are eligible to vote.
- The purchasing power of Tennessee's Latinos and Asians totaled $7.8 billion in 2008.
- If all undocumented workers were removed from Tennessee tomorrow, the state would lose $3.8 billion in expenditures, $1.7 billion in economic output, and roughly 26,000 jobs.
For more information, please read the report or visit www.immigrationpolicy.org
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Contact:
Elias Feghali, elias@tnimmigrant.org, 615-784-9745
