Maryland Immigrants

 

 

IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR CHILDREN ARE GROWING SHARES OF MARYLANDS POPULATION

 

Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians account for growing shares of the economy
and electorate in Maryland. Immigrants (the foreign-born) make up roughly
1 in 7 Marylanders, and nearly half of them are naturalized U.S. citizens
who are eligible to vote. “New Americans”—immigrants and the children of
immigrants—account for about 1 in 8 registered voters in the state.
Immigrants are not only integral to the state’s economy as workers,
but also account for billions of dollars in tax revenue and consumer
purchasing power. Moreover, Latinos and Asians (both foreign-born and
native-born) wield $34.2 billion in consumer purchasing power, and the
businesses they own had sales and receipts of $15.6 billion and employed
more than 96,000 people at last count. As high-skilled workers, immigrants
accounted for more than one-quarter of all scientists in the state, and
more than one-fifth of all health care practitioners. Immigrant, Latino,
and Asian workers, consumers, and entrepreneurs are integral to Maryland’s
economy and tax base—and they are an electoral force with which every
politician must reckon.