This article was written by and is the opinion of Texas State Representative Roberto R. Alonzo, District 104 - Dallas.
Contrary to what some critics say and lead us to believe, immigrants have contributed billions of dollars to strengthen our state's economy and financial standing. And that includes the often hotly-debated and highly controversial Medicare program. That's according to research studies and data compiled by two reputable think tank organizations, the Immigration Policy Center and Harvard Medical School, respectively. While our recently-completed regular session of the 83rd Texas Legislature was more immigrant-friendly, unlike the one from two years ago which was characterized with such a high anti-immigration climate, it is important to examine these two studies and see just where our economy stands right now, and remove some of the myths surrounding this issue. Additionally, I firmly believe it is studies like this that cement the reality of why it is that we so desperately need the most comprehensive immigration reform package that will fairly and adequately address the matter from all aspects and policy perspectives. Moreover, it is for this very reason that I filed the driver's license measure (HB 3206) during the recently-completed 83rd Regular Session of the Texas Legislature, a proposal supported by many conservative lawmakers and major businesses from all corners of the state. The proposal is intended to help immigrants in Texas get a driver's permit and also be able to purchase auto insurance. As I have consistently said I plan to work and push for the passage of this measure because it makes safety and economic sense, Plus, as we clearly witnessed during the regular session, the bipartisan crafted version of the legislation would allow immigrants living in our state to continue to drive legally while alleviating the fears of some conservatives who say those people might vote in Texas elections., another myth that has never been validated. While it may not be the perfect bill, it is a move in the right direction that falls very much in line with many of the proposals advocated by these two and other similar studies.
According to the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) study cited above, for example, since the 2010 U.S. census, data shows that the number of naturalized citizens has increased substantially in Texas, with the state's immigrant population accounting for significant purchasing power and economic output alike. The study shows that while immigrants make up 20 percent of the Texas workforce, the purchasing power of Hispanics and Asians in Texas - whether they be native-born or immigrants - increased to $265 billion in 2012. That is a whopping $55 billion two-year increase from the $210 billion in 2010, indeed nothing to laugh about. Additionally, when comparing 2010 to 2011, the study found an increase of 68,000 naturalized citizens in the state of Texas. With an estimated 1.6 billion undocumented immigrants in Texas, the study further revealed that the state would lose an estimated $69.3 billion in economic buying power, $308 billion in gross state product, and approximately 403,174 jobs if all these immigrants were removed from the state. Keep in mind, these statistics are attributed to and cited in the well-respected and Texas-based Perryman Group, an organization that our own State Comptroller's Office often cites when reporting Texas' financial standing every year. Also keep in mind that the last study conducted in Texas in 2006 by then-Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn found basically similar results. That study revealed that in Texas alone, Latin American immigrant workers in Texas sent about $3.2 billion home to their relatives back home in their native countries, but an overwhelming bulk of the dollars earned by those same immigrants ($68 billion compared to $3.2 billion) stayed in the Texas economy. Overall, the study found that Latin American and Carribean immigrants sent about $30 billion home in 2003. The bottom line is plain and simple, and it was the same in 2012 as it was in 2003; immigrants do indeed strengthen our state's economy and success.
This most recent IPC study citing the 68,000-person increase in Texas' naturalized citizen population means that demographic represents 33 percent of the state's immigrants. Accordingly, those naturalized citizens are also becoming more educated, with 29 percent of the group earning at least a bachelor's degree by 2011, compared to 15 percent of noncitizens.
Regarding the second matter relative to Medicare, the Harvard study concluded that immigrants give more to Medicare than they receive, once again a myth that many critics typically and very conveniently use as a scapegoat to blame immigrants for our state's and nation's financial woes during times of economic hardship. Measuring immigrants' contributions to the part of Medicare that pays for hospital care, the group of Harvard medical researchers found that immigrants generated surpluses totaling $115 billion from 2002 to 2009. In comparison during that same period, the American-born population incurred a deficit of $28 billion.
Certainly, these two studies shed some important light on what many demographers have long known and continue to repeat census after census, year after year. Immigrants are crucial in balancing the age structure of American society at large, and the Texas economy specifically. This special population of immigrants provides an infusion of young, working-age adults who support the country's aging population and help cover the costs of Medicare and Social Security. And with the baby boomers - the current largest generation in the US - now starting to retire, the financial help from immigrants could not have been more perfectly timed and needed.
In closing, let me reiterate, immigrants have contributed billions of dollars to strengthen our state's economy and financial standing. Let's keep it that way. Those contributions are what we need to highlight, rather than using them as scapegoats.
