WASHINGTON — On a press call held this afternoon (recording here), former Congressman Luis Gutiérrez, commentator and strategist Maria Cardona, America’s Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas, and Immigration Research Initiative Director David Dyssegaard Kallick gathered to react and assess to the Trump Univision town hall last night and Trump’s larger homestretch immigration focus and proposed second term immigration plans. The call also marked the launch of a national campaign organized by America’s Voice, “Reclaiming Our Story,” focused on highlighting the positive contributions of immigrants.
Former Congressman Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) said: “To the Latino community, I say, just remember, with Donald Trump, he’s coming for all of us. I say that because the people who are coming here, we know that we are a hard working community. […] But let me tell you, Latinos are Americans, we sing the same Star Spangled Banner and pledge to the same flag. That’s who we are at our core.”
Commentator and strategist Maria Cardona said: “Understand that immigrants have injected more than $7 trillion into our economy. [They] have been here for decades and are long settled and have roots in our communities and they are business people and first responders and teachers and lawyers and doctors, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, everyone that we see in the grocery store, in our community, in our parks. We need to give them expanded pathways so that they can earn a pathway to citizenship and that is another thing that the Vice President has talked about and it is what most Americans support.”
Immigration Research Initiative Director David Dyssegaard Kallick said: “There are 48 million people living in the United States who were born in another country, 11 million of them undocumented. They make up 14% of the population, about 19% of our labor force, 21% of our business owners, and overall contribute about 18% of the total gross domestic product to the economic output of this country. Immigrants are closely related to economic growth, more people means a bigger economy. […] When you have more people coming as workers, you also have more people coming as consumers, more people coming as business owners. And study after study after study has shown, that means more jobs for U.S. born people, for workers across the board.”
America’s Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas moderated the call and said: “The story of immigration is central to who we are as America, and immigration has by far been a blessing to the United States. In fact, immigration is essential for our future growth and prosperity. Without a doubt, we need to reform our immigration system, and we should have vigorous discussions about what needs to be done to modernize our system to meet the needs of 21st migration, but it is time we all tell the real story of immigrants, a story that is one of sacrifice, hard work, hope and achievement.
The new America’s Voice campaign “Reclaiming Our Story” is a national effort to correct the record – by showing how immigrants strengthen our economy, culture, and communities. America’s Voice will run a six-figure digital ad campaign to elevate this positive narrative of immigrants which has been overshadowed by right-wing anti-immigrant rhetoric. Together with partner organizations, America’s Voice will be hosting press events in the weeks ahead to discuss research findings and bring attention to the positive impact immigrants are making across the country.
For example, in Arizona, immigrants account for 16.2% of the workforce and have contributed billions in tax revenues. In Nevada, immigrants are essential to the operations of the tourism and hospitality industry – which are the core of Las Vegas’ economy. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has said Wisconsin’s dairy industry would “collapse without the work of Latino immigrants.” In Michigan, nearly one-fifth of the state’s STEM workers are immigrants. More than 20% of Georgia’s self-employed entrepreneurs are immigrants, totaling $3.4 billion in business income. In Pennsylvania, over one-fourth of the physicians are immigrants.
To mark the launch of this campaign, America’s Voice released six research products on the positive contributions of immigrants in key states.
Research on National Contributions of Immigrants
Research on Contributions of Immigrants in Arizona
Research on Contributions of Immigrants in Nevada
Research on Contributions of Immigrants in Michigan
Research on Contributions of Immigrants in Wisconsin
Research on Contributions of Immigrants in Pennsylvania
Research on Contributions of Immigrants in Georgia
