Did you know that in every twenty residents in Arkansas, one is an immigrant? Another 5% of residents are natural-born US citizens with at least one immigrant parent. This small but diverse community has impacted the state economically with more than 99,000 immigrant workers, which comprise 7% of its labor force.
This is according to 2018 American Immigration Council data. 14% are in the manufacturing industry, followed by administrative & support, waste management and remediation services (12%), mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (11%), construction (11%), and other services (9%).
Immigrants in Arkansas paid $705.6 million in federal taxes and $389.7 million in state and local taxes in 2018. Regarding spending power, immigrants, as consumers, contribute around $3.1 billion to the country.
For their part, immigrant entrepreneurs have generated an estimated $282.9 million in business revenue. 2016 data shows that 3% of the labor force in Arkansas is undocumented. Even so, they have contributed approximately $85.5 million in federal taxes and $69.1 million in state and local taxes in 2018. The vast contributions of immigrants make them an integral part of what Arkansas is today.
In June 2020 more extensive bans on working visas were announced. The reasoning behind this was to protect American jobs and economic recovery from the COVID-19 financial disruptions. Ironically, amidst the 40th anniversary of the Refugee Act of 1980, the president has made it more difficult for people in danger to flee from their home countries as he imposed more restrictions on asylum seekers.
Instead of enforcing strict restrictions on migrant workers, the federal government should recognize their contributions and welcome them for humanitarian and economic reasons.
It should not be about them taking jobs from Americans. Instead, it should be America accepting immigrants' strengths for the nation's greater good.
Government-imposed mandates apply to all, including migrant workers in Arkansas, regardless of their contributions to the state and the country. There is a need for the state to protect the rights of migrant workers in Arkansas the way it will defend its natural-born citizens. First, there is a need for the state to protect the constitutional rights of migrant workers in Arkansas and for all laws to be fair to all residents. There are instances where even longtime lawful migrants are automatically deported for minor offenses.
Others are detained for prolonged periods without justification based on their race. The state must also ensure that the legal rights of immigrants as employees are maintained. The exploitation of migrant workers is rampant, especially when they lack knowledge of US labor laws.
