By Bob Plain in Rhode Island’s Future
Do you want to deport
the 26,666 undocumented workers living in Rhode Island?
Hope you’ve got a plan
to cover the $17.9 million state and local tax vacuum it would create, in
addition to another $25 million in federal taxes.
The New
American Economy, an immigration advocacy group started by Michael Bloomberg,
released state and city-level data earlier this week that shows how many immigrants are in Rhode Island, and how much they
contribute to the Ocean State economy as part of a 50 state analysis.
All told, there are 137,432 immigrants residents in Rhode Island, or 13 percent of state population.
In Massachusetts, immigrants account for 15.6 percent of
the state population and Connecticut is just slightly higher than Rhode
Island at 13.7 percent. New Hampshire, 5.9 percent, Vermont, 3.9 percent, and
Maine, 3.7 percent, are much lower.
Immigrants living in
Rhode Island paid $336.6 million in state and local taxes, as well as 549.9 in
federal taxes, in 2014.
They represented $2.6 billion in spending power, the
analysis says.
Foreign born workers account for 50.2 percent of Rhode Island’s
software developers and 49.2 percent of the state’s cooks and chefs, they do 44.8
percent of the landscaping and 59 percent of services to buildings and
dwellings.
27,504 immigrants in Rhode Island are homeowners.
There are 66,987
immigrants eligible to vote in Rhode Island and 42,128 registered to vote, or
63 percent.
Of the 137,432 immigrants in Rhode Island, 26,666 are
undocumented. About 19 percent of Rhode Island’s immigrant
population about 2 percent of the state’s total population is undocumented,
according to the data in the New American Economy analysis. Undocumented
immigrants in Rhode Island have $321.5 million in spending power.
Bob Plain is the editor/publisher of Rhode Island's Future. Previously,
he's worked as a reporter for several different news organizations both in
Rhode Island and across the country.