A new report from Policy Matters Ohio helps us understand how immigrants are building Ohio. Despite comprising only 5% of the population, 15% of Ohio’s Main Street businesses owners and 6% of Ohio’s workers were born in other countries. From transporting goods and harvesting, processing, and preparing food, to developing tech tools and caring for individuals who need help at home, immigrants work in every type of job and live in every region of the state.
Ohio Capital Journal also reported that most economists believe mass deportation would harm the Ohio economy, according to a survey of 20 experts in Ohio from Scioto Analysis. They describe loss of tax revenues, and cost and wage increases, with no gain for the social safety net.
Migration is as old as time. People move for safety and opportunity every day — whether inside their state or country, or across an international border. U.S. immigration law has restricted this basic act of humanity, making it nearly impossible for someone who doesn’t have an advanced degree, or a nuclear relative who is already a citizen, to get a visa in advance.
That’s why many people are forced to take the only route available — asylum — which first requires a difficult journey to a U.S. border and requesting protection from an immigration official, who may throw you in jail and treat you with indignity.
“When immigrants move to Ohio, the economy grows. That doesn’t mean fewer jobs, it means more jobs: there are more consumers, more workers, and more business owners. Study after study shows there is no fixed number of jobs in a state. Immigration creates opportunities that benefit U.S.-born workers too,” says the Policy Matters Ohio report.
In dollars and cents, immigrant workers and business owners generate $53 billion in economic output in Ohio. But their true contribution cannot be quantified. They also bring social capital, volunteering in schools, leading congregations, and taking care of each other — just like people who aren’t immigrants.
We have a lot more in common than our differences, and that includes working to make Ohio a better place to live — no matter where we were born. Watch Viles Dorsainvil, Executive Director of the Haitian Community & Support Center, talk about Haitians’ contributions to Springfield on CNN.
Sadly, at least one economist appears to be completely divorced from reality. David Brasington of the University of Cincinnati believes Ohio doesn’t have enough undocumented workers for mass deportation to make a difference, and “the jobs they have produce lower-value goods,” according to his responses to the Scioto survey.
Apparently, Mr. Brasington does not eat food.