This Labor Day, A Reminder That Immigrants Are Essential To Our Communities And Key Industries

During a summer when Superman is back in theaters to save the day, we should also remember that there are real-life heroes all around us. They’re the workers who feed us, make our roads safer, teach our children, care for our loved ones, and help sustain our economy. Millions of these essential workers are immigrants, and what better day to recognize their work, contributions, and sacrifices than on Labor Day.

Immigrant workers feed us, build our homes and repair our roads, teach our kids, and are caregivers for our loved ones. Immigrants nourish our country and quite literally keep the entire agricultural industry alive. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. farmworkers are foreign-born, meaning that if we were to eliminate the skilled labor of immigrants, grocery prices would go up and our food supply would face collapse. They carry out this essential labor in rain or shine, cold or extreme heat:

Immigrants are the backbone of construction, making up more than 2 million workers in the industry. This trend isn’t new. “Construction work has been a historical launching pad for immigrant communities going back to the 19th century and the formation of the German-Speaking Framers’ Union in New York and subsequent Irish and Italian labor rolls in the 20th century,” one housing expert has said. Chinese immigrants built the western section of the transcontinental railroad during the second half of the 19th century, called “one of the greatest engineering feats in American history” by the Department of Labor in 2014. “Many of these workers risked their lives and perished during the harsh winters and dangerous working conditions.”

DACA recipients also teach our kids while more than 800,000 immigrants work as direct care workers providing long-term care and unique skills sets. “In particular, some older adults may feel more comfortable with direct care workers who share or understand their language, race, ethnicity, or other cultural characteristics,” KFF said in April.

Immigrant workers are an integral part of our workforce, help drive economic growth, and contribute billions in taxes that help sustain federal programs essential to our lives. Immigrants represent one in six U.S. workers and have been described as “natural entrepreneurs,” with one study finding that they’re as much as 80% more likely to start a company. DACA recipients also outpace the general population in terms of business creation, another study found. Immigrant households are major participants in our economy, holding “$1.3 trillion in collective spending power (after-tax income) in 2019,” the American Immigration Council said in 2021.

Immigrants also help sustain vital federal programs like Social Security and Medicare, paying $524.7 billion in total taxes in 2021, “a slight increase since 2019,” Immigration Impact said in 2023.

@americasvoice Immigrants make robust contributions to our economy. #immigrants #economy #taxes ♬ original sound – AmericasVoice

And contrary to the years of tired myths, undocumented households do pay taxes, to the tune of nearly $100 billion in taxes annually, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. In 2022, undocumented workers paid $25.7 billion into Social Security, $6.4 billion into Medicare, and nearly $2 billion into unemployment – all programs that they’re barred from accessing unless they can adjust their legal status. In other words, undocumented workers have been helping subsidize critical federal programs for Americans, and getting nothing in return.

Immigrant workers are our friends, neighbors, and loved ones – and they deserve to be here. Immigrants are not just key to our nation’s continued success, allowing families to continue building their lives here is simply the right thing to do. Roughly half of the nation’s undocumented population, 6.7 million, has lived here for a decade or more, while nearly two million undocumented immigrants have lived here for an astounding 25 years or more, FWD.us said. Many of these individuals have families here, including millions of U.S. citizen children. “In total, it is estimated that more than 4.9 million U.S. citizen children have at least one undocumented parent,” FWD.us said. “At the same time, more than a million undocumented immigrants are married to a U.S. citizen spouse.”

Creating a pathway to citizenship for these families is an overwhelmingly popular position. One Gallup poll from July found that 78% of Americans support citizenship for undocumented immigrants. An even greater share of Americans, 85%, support a pathway to citizenship for young immigrants who have only ever known the U.S. as home. Gallup also found that by a record high 79-17% margin, Americans think immigration is a “good thing” rather than a “bad thing” for the country.

@americasvoice🚨Este el aniversario de DACA, recordemos una verdad incómoda: incluso los Dreamers — quienes trabajan, estudian y aportan millones a este país — siguen siendo blanco de arrestos y deportaciones.♬ original sound – AmericasVoice

On Labor Day, we honor and recognize the skills and contributions of U.S. workers while also making clear that immigration is good for families, it’s good for our economy and businesses, and it’s key to our success.