'Common Sense' Immigration Policy Recommended by Md. State Panel

February 9, 2012

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Immigrants to Maryland contribute significantly to the state's economy, and were vital to its workforce expansion in both technical and less-skilled occupations from 2000 to 2010, concludes a new report by a Maryland commission. During this period, immigrants mostly complemented rather than competed with U.S.-born state residents for jobs, it adds.

The Commission to Study the Impact of Immigrants in Maryland, a state panel coordinated by the University of Maryland, evaluated the economic contributions of the state's foreign-born and the cost of government services for them. It also studied the education experience of the children of immigrants, immigration law enforcement issues facing local communities, and the use of the federal E-Verify system to verify workers' immigration status.

The panel's final report, The Impact of Immigrants in Maryland, says the state's foreign-born workers accounted for more than 57 percent of workforce expansion from 2000 to 2010. This was well above the national average of 45 percent.

Also, the report urges legislators to take a long view of immigration, which will show that the benefits significantly outweigh the costs, even the short run fiscal costs of providing state and local services. It says the state would be "foolhardy" to shortchange the education of immigrants' children, who will be part of the state's future workforce.

"The panel has adopted a common sense approach that we believe reflects the will of the State," says Commission Chair Larry Shinagawa, a University of Maryland professor and demographer. "We've based our findings on the demographic and economic facts and the legal responsibilities of Maryland's jurisdictions, and we believe our recommendations can help the State leverage global energy and talent to continue as a diverse, prosperous, and dynamic community."

The General Assembly authorized the commission in 2008, and the panel first met in 2010. As staff director, University of Maryland economist Jeffrey Werling, who directs the university's econometric research center, Inforum, coordinated the work of the panel, which included representatives from the governor's office, both houses of the Assembly, and the private sector. Together, they scoured data sources and immigration literature and interviewed dozens of witnesses.

Among the report's major findings and recommendations:

ECONOMIC IMPACT
"Immigrants have made considerable contributions to Maryland's leading industries in the information, science, and medical fields," the report says, pointing to evidence from 2000 to 2010. Additionally, unskilled immigrants play important roles in agriculture, seafood, construction, tourism, and transportation.

"Without the influx of foreign-born workers, expansion in these labor-intensive industries would have been choked off, increasing prices and discouraging growth across the economy," it finds. The report did note that when economic growth is weak, competition from new immigrants may lead to lower wages and contribute to unemployment among lower-skilled workers. "Notably, when it occurs, the negative effects of new immigration are most concentrated on the wage and employment opportunities of previous low-skilled immigrants.”

FISCAL IMPACT
Foreign-born workers' contribution to economic growth largely supplies the tax and other resources needed to cope with the larger population that immigration produces, the report says. A 2007 Congressional Budget Office report concluded that, in aggregate and over the long term, immigrants pay more in federal, state, and local taxes than they use in government services.

The rapid influx of lesser-skilled immigrants can strain the capacity of state and local government budgets to supply health and education services. About three-fourths of the costs of serving immigrants, regardless of legal status, involve providing a public education for their children - services the U.S. Supreme Court says cannot be denied. Many of these children are U.S. citizens.

More details on educational and law enforcement recommendations available online: http://newsdesk.umd.edu/vibrant/release.cfm?ArticleID=2605
Complete report available online: http://ter.ps/by

Neil Tickner
UMD Public Affairs
301-405-4622
ntickner@umd.edu

Larry Shinagawa, Ph.D.
Commission Chair
UMD Professor and Director of Asian American Studies
301-405-0996
lshinaga@umd.edu

Jeffrey Werling, Ph.D.
Commission Staff Director
Executive Director of UMD Inforum Economic Research Center
301-405-4607
jwerling@umd.edu

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