The series of executive actions [1]on immigration, which President Obama announced on November 20, 2014, promises to benefit [2] the U.S. economy. Most, though not all, of these economic gains would flow from the two deferred action initiatives: Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA), which will grant temporary relief from deportation and work authorization to some unauthorized parents of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents; and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which offers the same relief to qualified young adults who were brought to the United States as children. This fact sheet provides a snapshot of what executive action will mean for Montana, including the potential number of applicants for the deferred action initiatives, and the economic benefits DAPA and DACA will bring to the state. The fact sheet also provides background on the immigrant, Latino, and Asian population in Montana and their current contributions to the state’s economy.
Estimates of the population eligible to participate in executive action programs represent only a small portion of the total number of immigrants in Montana.
- An estimate of the population eligible to participate in DAPA in Montana is 500, according to the Center for Migration Studies [3] (CMS).
- An estimate of the population eligible to participate in DACA in Montana is 100, according to CMS [3].
- Estimates of Montana’s total unauthorized population range from 1,000 in 2013, according to CMS, to less than 5,000 in 2012, according to the Pew Research Center [4].
- In 2013, there were a total of 19,465 foreign-born persons [5] in Montana, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Executive action will help grow Montana’s economy by several hundred million dollars.
- The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) found that the executive action on immigration will grow the U.S. economy by $90 billion to $210 billion [6] over the next 10 years. Given Montana’s current share of the U.S. economy, CEA’s estimate implies that the actions will increase Montana’s GDP by $230 million to $550 million [7] over the next 10 years.
Executive action on immigration exists within a broader context in which immigrants, Latinos, and Asians contribute to Montana.
- Montana has a growing immigrant population, many of whom are Latino or Asian. The foreign-born share of Montana’s population rose from 1.7% in 1990 [8], to 1.8% in 2000 [8], to 1.9% in 2013 [9], according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2013, 15.2% of Montana’s foreign-born population was of Latino origin [10] and 22.9% of the state’s foreign-born were Asian.
- Almost all children with immigrant parents are U.S. citizens. In 2009 [11], 97.6% of Montana children with immigrant parents were U.S. citizens, according to data from the Urban Institute. In 2009 [11], 99.5% of children in Latino families in Montana were U.S. citizens.
- The purchasing power of Latinos and Asians in Montana has grown substantially over the past 25 years. The 2012 purchasing power of Latinos in Montana totaled $603 million—an increase of 609% since 1990. Asian buying power totaled $146 million—an increase of 265% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth [12]at the University of Georgia.
- Latino- and Asian-owned businesses are contributing to the state’s economy, including by creating jobs. Montana’s 1,131 Latino-owned [13]businesses had sales and receipts of $161 million and employed 2,436 people in 2007, the last year for which data is available. The state’s 646 Asian-owned [13]businesses had sales and receipts of $142.8 million and employed 1,735 people in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.
- Unauthorized immigrants are paying millions of dollars in state and local taxes. Unauthorized immigrants in Montana paid $1.8 million in state and local taxes in 2010 [14], including $973,000 in sales taxes, $605,000 in state income taxes, and $219,000 in property taxes, according to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Were unauthorized immigrants in Montana to have legal status, they would pay $2.7 million [14] in state and local taxes, including $982,000 in sales taxes, $1.5 million in state income taxes, and $250,000 in property taxes.
- Deporting all unauthorized immigrants would adversely affect Montana’s economy. If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Montana, the state would lose $96.3 million in economic activity, $42.8 million in gross state product, and approximately 720 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group [15].
Published On: Tue, Mar 10, 2015 | Download File [16]