September 5, 2014

Undocumented immigrants in California add $130 billion to state's GDP

Alternet - A new study on immigrant contributions at the University of Southern California has revealed that undocumented immigrants in California make up 10% of the workforce and contribute $130 billion to the gross domestic product, the LA Times reported.

The study, conducted in conjunction with the California Immigrant Policy Center, explores the various ways that the estimated 2.6 million immigrants who lack legal status participate in state life, with a particular focus on their contributions to the state’s GDP.  The study found that most immigrant workers lack basic civil rights protections and are faced with the daily threat of family separation and deportation due to the federal government’s inability to create a “rational immigration system.”

Other key findings in the report with respect to undocumented immigrants in California include:

58% do not have health insurance 38% work in the agriculture industry Half have been in the state for at least 10 years Three quarters live in households that include U.S. citizens Of the 4.4 million immigrants living in the greater L.A. region, 1.1 million are undocumented, contributing $57 billion to the regional GDP

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

And as we know, GDP isn't counted rationally, so there's no way to know what the real impact is.

Anonymous said...

$100 billion sent to Latin America?