FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Anthony Michael
November 6, 2017 Phone: 630-618-9942, amichael@AngelouEconomics.com
NEW ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY FOR TEXAS FINDS UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS GENERATE A $703 MILLION FISCAL SURPLUS, A $78 BILLION LOSS TO TEXAS GDP
Austin, Texas – Texas generates a $703 million fiscal surplus from its undocumented immigrant population, says a newly release economic impact study by AngelouEconomics. The report finds that undocumented immigrants receive $2.0 billion in public services from the state, while paying $2.7 billion in various consumption, utility, and property taxes.
Texas is home to approximately 1.65 million undocumented immigrants, who are primarily from Mexico (71%), El Salvador (8%), and Honduras (4%). The report highlights a recent Business Roundtable study, which finds that removing most of the undocumented immigrant population would lower Texas GDP by $78 billion over a 10-year period.
“AngelouEconomics is in favor of secure borders, but we must recognize the benefits of the immigrant population to the Texas economy,” said Angelos Angelou, Principal Executive Officer at AngelouEconomics. “We are in support of border control and security, but undocumented Texans have lived here for many years, they are part of our state’s fabric and are integrated into our economy. To deal with immigration, we must consider long-term solutions, rather than short sighted ones that threaten our social networks and economic strength.”
The report highlights the growing importance of undocumented workers as the state finds itself in the midst of a persistent, multi-year labor shortage. The construction, agriculture, and services industry would be impacted most by enforcement of Senate Bill 4, since they are the top employers of undocumented immigrants throughout Texas. Further, removing undocumented workers from their jobs would increase labor costs for Texas businesses, and consequently hurt Texas goods sold in global export markets.
According to Austin Mayor, Steve Adler, “Austin is a welcoming community to everyone who lives here, including approximately 100,000 undocumented immigrants. Austin thrives because of, and not in spite of, our diversity. Restrictive immigration policies such as Senate Bill 4, divide our community and limit our potential.”
For a copy of the study, please send an email to amichael@AngelouEconomics.com
