The political and economic power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in New Jersey

by: Jason Springer

Fri Oct 09, 2009 at 02:15:00 PM EDT

The Immigration Policy Center is out with a new study talking about the political and economic power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in New Jersey:

Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians account for large and growing shares of the economy and electorate in New Jersey. Immigrants make up roughly 20% of the state's population, and more than half of them are naturalized U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote. "New Americans"-immigrants and the children of immigrants-account for 15.1% of all registered voters in the state. Moreover, Latinos and Asians wield roughly $67.3 billion in consumer purchasing power, and the businesses they own had sales and receipts of $25.7 billion and employed 125,593 people at last count. Immigrant workers contributed at least $47 billion to the state economy in 2006, representing almost one-quarter (or 23%) of all earnings statewide. At a time of economic recession, New Jersey can ill-afford to alienate such a critical component of its labor force, tax base, and business community.

I'll put the full findings below the fold. Bottom line, almost 1 in 5 residents are immigrants. Over half of them are naturalized meaning they are eligible to vote. In fact, they say that 15% of the total registered voters are naturalized citizens or US born children of immigrants.

Jason Springer :: The political and economic power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in New Jersey

Immigrants and their children are growing shares of New Jersey's population and electorate.

The foreign-born share of New Jersey's population rose from 12.5% in 1990, to 17.5% in 232000, to 19.9% in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. New Jersey was home to 1,731,202 immigrants in 42007, which is more than the population of Phoenix, 5 Arizona.

51.2% of immigrants (or 886,921 people) in New Jersey were naturalized U.S. citizens in 62007-meaning that they are eligible to vote.

15.1% (or 526,565) of registered voters in New Jersey were "New Americans"-naturalized citizens or the U.S.-born children of immigrants who were raised during the current era of immigration from Latin
America and Asia which began in 1965-according to an analysis of 2006 Census Bureau data by 7 Rob Paral & Associates.

Nearly 1 in 4 New Jerseyans are Latino or Asian.

The Latino share of New Jersey's population grew from 9.6% in 1990, to 13.3% in 9102000, to 15.9% (or 1,381,061 people) in 2007. The Asian share of the population grew from 3.5% in 1112131990, to 5.7% in 2000, to 7.5% (or 651,444 people) in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Latinos comprised 9.3% (or 337,000) of New Jersey voters in the 2008 elections, and Asians 5.9% (or 215,000), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The number of Latino and Asian voters in New Jersey is equivalent to more than 90% of Barack Obama's margin of victory (14 602,215 votes) over John McCain.

Latino and Asian entrepreneurs and consumers add billions of dollars and tens-of-thousands of jobs to New Jersey's economy.

The 2008 purchasing power of New Jersey's Latinos totaled $35.6 billion-an increase of 294.2% since 1990. Asian buying power totaled $31.7 billion-an increase of 460.2% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.15

New Jersey's 51,957 Asian Owned businesses had sales and receipts of $18.5 billion and employed 85,171 people in 2002, the last year for which data is available.16 The state's 49,841 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $7.2 billion and employed 40,422 people in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Business Owners.17

Immigrants are integral to New Jersey's economy as workers.

Immigrants comprised 25.3% of the state's workforce in 2007 (or 1,146,425 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Immigrant workers contributed at least $47 billion to New Jersey's Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P.) in 2006, representing almost one-quarter (23%) of all earnings statewide, according to a study at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.

More than 40% of the state's scientists and engineers with advanced degrees were foreign-born in 2006, according to the same study.

Immigration to New Jersey raised the wages of native-born workers without a high-school diploma by 3.0% between 1990 and 2000, according to the same study.

Unauthorized immigrants comprised 9.2% of the state's workforce (or 425,000 workers) in 2008, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from New Jersey, the state would lose $24.2 billion in expenditures, $10.7 billion in economic output, and approximately 103,898 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group.

Naturalized Citizens Excel Educationally.

In New Jersey, 39% of foreign-born persons who were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2007 had a bachelor's or higher degree, compared to 31.7% of noncitizens. At the same time, only 16.6% of naturalized citizens lacked a high-school diploma, compared to 25.5% of noncitizens.

The number of immigrants in New Jersey with a college degree increased by 42.8% between 2000 and 2007, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.