Welcoming Immigrants: Why Empathy Is Smart Economics For Cities

Why should a local government care about welcoming immigrants and becoming an actively empathetic institution? Not only do immigrants add social and civic value to towns and cities, they also help their communities become stronger economically. More localities are recognizing this, and with immigration reform stalled at the federal level, they are taking the lead to attract and welcome their immigrant neighbors.

Research demonstrates the important role immigrants play in local economies across the nation. According to a Brookings study, they are 30% more likely to start a business compared to their U.S.-born counterparts. Not only do immigrants create jobs as natural entrepreneurs, but research shows that immigrants also contribute to local housing values—they tend to gravitate towards affordable neighborhoods that have fallen out of favor and often revitalize areas in decline. According to a report by Partnership for a New American Economy, “By keeping properties on the tax rolls, immigrants support local government. By moving into once-vacant homes, they help reduce crime.” Thus, “immigrants can simultaneously boost housing prices in some areas while easing housing affordability problems elsewhere.”

By lifting up declining neighborhoods, starting businesses, and creating jobs, immigrants enrich their adopted hometowns in ways that create a positive magnetic effect for those communities. According to a report by Americas Society/Council of the Americas, because immigrants tend to make communities more attractive through greater demand for businesses and preservation of jobs in industries such as manufacturing, for every 1,000 immigrants that arrive to a county, 270 U.S.-born residents move there in response....

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