Langley Park, MD – In response to the State Of The Economy Series: Immigration And The Economy report released by the Comptroller of Maryland, CASA’s Director of Immigrant Integration, Pablo Blank issued the following statement.

“Data kills assumptions, and with goodwill, it should also kill prejudices. Immigrants are essential not only at the microeconomic level– families and individuals accessing services in their daily lives. This report shows that immigrants are also essential at the macroeconomic level. Immigrants have played a crucial role in this growth by adding to the labor force, paying taxes to finance state programs, and the economic multiplier by spending their incomes on local businesses.”

The 27-page report is part of an inaugural State of the Economy report issued by the Comptroller of Maryland’s office. The series is a comparative report on the economic trends for Maryland, neighboring states and the US.

The report highlights trends including:

• As of 2022, immigrants represented 16.7% of Maryland’s population and represents 21.1% of Maryland’s labor force
• From 2022 to 2023, Maryland ranked 8th in the nation for net gain of international migrants at nearly 33,000 residents
• Migration closed the post pandemic-induced U.S. labor force gap by mid-2022
• Immigrants filled 50% of the 2.7 million jobs added to the U.S. economy in 2023
• Immigrants tend to be over-represented in high-risk and physically demanding fields in Maryland, 12% of foreign-born Marylanders hold jobs in construction compared to just 5.8% of U.S.-born residents

While immigrants are the majority of employees in high-risk and physically demanding jobs, the report notes that immigrants are also skilled workers. According to the study, immigrants also “make up 23% of the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce and 23% of registered nurses in Maryland.” Yet, despite these contributions, the report also shows that “there are more than 35,000 immigrants with health-related degrees in Maryland, and 7,000 or 21% of them are underutilized.” Despite holding degrees in their country of origin, due to a myriad of legal and policy reasons, many immigrant Marylanders are restricted from working in their desired career fields.

Blank said, “Maryland’s economic growth has been low in the last several years. Imagine what that growth would look like in the coming years if we removed the barriers immigrants confront when accessing the labor market! For them and all of us, federal, state, and local authorities must implement policies to support immigrants, starting with establishing a path to citizenship or, at minimum, issuing work permits universally. Additionally, they should facilitate the validation of international professional credentials, offer assistance with the naturalization process, and provide English language classes, among other measures.”

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With over 155,000 lifetime members across 46 US states, CASA is a national powerhouse organization building power and improving the quality of life in working-class: Black, Latino/a/e, Afro-descendent, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities. CASA creates change with its powerbuilding model blending human services, community organizing, and advocacy in order to serve the full spectrum of the needs, dreams, and aspirations of members. www.wearecasa.org