Study reveals economic impact of immigrants in Oklahoma shares email

Nearly 220,000 immigrants of all legal statuses call Oklahoma home and many play an important role in the state's economy, especially in career fields suffering from a shortage of skilled workers, according to a new report on immigration in the state. In 2014, immigrants in Oklahoma paid over $346 million in state and local taxes, according to a report from the New American Economy and promoted by the local nonprofit Aspiring Americans. The New American Economy, which is a bipartisan collection of over 500 mayors and business leaders advocating for immigration reform, studied the impact of all types of immigrants, including those with U.S. citizenship, work permits and undocumented residents. "We hear so often that (immigrant) families don't pay taxes, but then when we look at the New American Economy statistics, we see how much revenue it actually brings in," said Tracey Morales, program director of Aspiring Americans, which is a program of Scissortail Community Development Corporation.

Overall, foreign-born immigrants make up 6 percent of the state's population, but they make up 8 percent of the workforce. Other figures from the report include: • 10,012 immigrants in Oklahoma are self-employed. • 40,794 immigrants are homeowners in Oklahoma. • 32 percent of immigrants in Oklahoma are U.S. citizens, compared to 47 percent nationwide. Noncitizens include those in the country through a visa, a resettlement program or those who lack documentation.

Career opportunities Immigrants make up over 20 percent of the state's workforce in fields like manufacturing, housekeeping, fabrication and landscaping. But they also make up large segments of the health care, science and technology fields. "They want to become engineers, they want to become the nurses and the doctors," Morales said. While immigration is often a policy issue debated at the national level, there are some state-based policies that hold back immigrant employment, especially for those who are undocumented, Morales said.