More on Immigrant Political and Economic Contributions

The U.S. Census Bureau published new data, Voting and Registration in the Election of 2008, which tracks demographic characteristics of the 131 million U.S. citizens who reported that they voted in the 2008 presidential election. The Census Bureau’s new data set shows a significant increase of about 5 million voters from the 2004 presidential election—including 2 million more Latino voters and 600,000 more Asian voters. Relative to the presidential election of 2004, the voting rates for blacks, Asians, and Latinos each increased by about 4 percentage points. The voting rate for non-Latino whites decreased by 1 percentage point.

The growing electoral power of New American Latino voters in particular was especially important in key states in the 2008 election—giving Obama a wider margin of victory than he would have had otherwise. In Indiana, Obama won by roughly 26,000 votes, and received the votes of nearly 24,000 more Latino New Americans than John McCain. Similarly, in North Carolina, Obama won by approximately 14,000 votes, yet received the votes of nearly 26,000 more Latino New Americans than McCain.

Via ImmigrationProf Blog:

The Immigration Policy Center has compiled research which shows that immigrants, Latinos, and Asians not only wield tremendous political power in Michigan, but are also an integral part of Michigan's economy and tax base. As workers, taxpayers, consumers, and entrepreneurs, immigrants and their children are an economic powerhouse--especially the Arab American community. As voters, they are a potent political force. As Michigan's economy begins to recover, immigrants and their children will continue to play a key role in the shaping and growing the economic and political landscape of the Great Lakes State.

Highlights of the research include:

• Immigrants make up more than 6% of Michigan's total population (roughly equal to the total population of Boston, MA) and nearly half of them are naturalized citizens who are eligible to vote.

• New Americans (naturalized U.S. citizens and their U.S.-born children) represent 5.2% of the state's voting population.

• The purchasing power of Michigan's Asians totaled $9.2 billion in 2008 and Latino buying power totaled $8.8 billion

• Asian-owned businesses in the state generated sales and receipts worth more than $5.1 billion annually and Latino-owned businesses generated $3.2 billion in 2002.

• Arab Americans accounted for $7.7 billion in total earnings in the four counties of the Detroit metropolitan area, generating an estimated $544 million in state tax revenue and supporting an estimated 141,541 jobs. There is no denying the contributions immigrants make and the important role they play in Michigan's political and economic future.