Immigrants in NY

November 26, 2007
NYTimes.com
Immigrants Pull Weight in Economy, Study Finds
By PATRICK McGEEHAN

Immigrants contribute nearly one-fourth of the economic output of New York State, and outside of New York City, they are overrepresented in some of the most critical occupations, including higher education and health care, according to a study to be released today.

In the suburbs north and east of the city, about 4 of every 10 doctors and more than one-fourth of college professors were foreign-born, the study by the private Fiscal Policy Institute found. In upstate New York, where just 5 percent of residents are foreign-born, immigrants accounted for about one-fifth of the professors and more than one-third of the doctors, according to the study.

The study, conducted over the past year, concluded that the contributions of people born outside the country have spread far beyond the low-wage, low-skill work often associated with immigrants. Most immigrants meld into New York communities, learn to speak English and buy homes, it found. The institute is an independent research organization that focuses on public policy in New York State.

“We just felt like there was such a deep misunderstanding about who immigrants were that the political discourse often got far afield from any factual basis of what’s really going on here,” said David D. Kallick, a senior fellow at the institute and the principal author of the study, “Working for a Better Life.”

The study included foreign-born New York residents who have lived in the country for decades, as well as new arrivals, and included legal and illegal immigrants to capture the full immigrant experience, Mr. Kallick said.