By America’s Voice | January 10, 2024

New York, NY — New research highlighted in Newsday found that migrants and asylum seekers are “pumping millions” into Long Island’s economy.

The report found that for every thousand migrants that arrive in New York, they contribute $3 million in state and local taxes. As migrants move into more skilled positions in New York’s workforce, their contribution to the economy increases to $4 million. When asylum seekers and migrants receive temporary or permanent work permits, New York experiences an increase in tax revenue, a more skilled workforce, and a stronger economy.

“The new report makes it clear: migrants and asylum seekers are strengthening New York’s economy. Instead of scapegoating asylum seekers, New York leaders should advance real solutions to support migrants and grow our economy—including by expanding  workforce development and increasing legal services funding to ensure a  pathway to work authorizations,” said Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director of New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC). “New York businesses and communities directly benefit from migrants and local, state, and federal officials should pay attention to the facts and work together to deliver a solutions-oriented approach to help migrants get on their feet so they can fully help New York flourish. ”

Read highlights below:

“Asylum-seekers have pumped millions into Long Island’s economy since arriving to the region by the thousands, according to a report that comes amid the third calendar year of the migrant crisis.

The report, released Monday by the Immigration Research Initiative and the Ellis Island Initiative, found that for every 1,000 migrants who arrive on Long Island, roughly $3 million is paid in local tax revenue — with that number growing to up to $4 million within five years.

It comes as nearly 100,000 asylum-seeking migrants have made their way to New York City within the past 18 months.

[…]

Those migrants, some of whom have been granted temporary or permanent work permits, earn a median wage of $27,000 annually, while paying an estimated $3 million in state and local taxes as servers, janitors, cashiers, housekeepers, movers, home health aides as well as child care and construction workers, the report found. Most migrant families, according to the report, have two wage earners.

Those wages typically increase to $35,000 per year within five years, with the tax revenue ticking up to $4 million annually as migrants move into more skilled positions such as teaching assistants and licensed practical nurses, said David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of the Manhattan-based nonprofit Immigration Research Initiative, which bills itself as nonpartisan and studies the economic, social, and cultural inclusion of immigrants in the United States.

[…]

“Immigrant workers have made an enormous positive impact on Long Island’s economy, and will continue to do so if we give them access to training and family-sustaining job opportunities,” said Onika Shepherd, Long Island political director of 1199 SEIU, a member of the Ellis Island Initiative. “These new findings reinforce the economic opportunity for Long Island if our communities embrace new arrivals and help them thrive.”

  asylum seekers, economy, immigrants, long island