Washington D.C. (February 22, 2010) – The Immigration Policy Center has compiled research which shows that immigrants, Latinos, and Asians are an important part of Kansas’s economy, labor force, and tax base.Immigrants and their children are a growing economic and political force as consumers, taxpayers, and entrepreneurs. With the nation working towards economic recovery, immigrants and their children will continue to play a key role in shaping the economic and political future of the Sunflower State.
Highlights from Kansas include:
• Immigrants made up 6.0 percent (167,085 people) of Kansas’s population in 2007.
• 31.2 percent of immigrants in 2007 (or 52,095 people) in Kansas were naturalized U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote.
• Latinos accounted for 8.7 percent (or 241,512) and Asians 2.2 percent (or 61,072) of Kansans in 2007.
• The purchasing power of Latinos totaled $5.2 billion and Asian buying power totaled $2.1 billion in Kansas in 2009.
• If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Kansas, the state could lose $1.8 billion in expenditures, $807.2 million in economic output, and approximately 11,879 jobs.
There is no denying the contributions immigrants, Latinos, and Asians make in Kansas and the important role they will play in the state’s political and economic future.
