The data tells a clear story: immigrants are essential to economic growth, workforce stability, and debt reduction. From health care and manufacturing to professional services and entrepreneurship, immigrants power the labor force and keep communities growing. 

Debt Reduction and Government Subsidy 

Since 1994, immigrants reduced federal deficits by $14.5 trillion. Every year immigrants paid more in taxes than benefits received from federal, state, and local governments. The Cato Institute found that “[t]he fiscal surplus from all immigrants from 1994 to 2023 was $14.5 trillion, compared with a deficit of $48 trillion without immigrants. That means that immigrants cut deficits by nearly a third in real terms over the last three decades.” The study also points out that without the contributions of immigrants, “public debt at all levels would already be above 200% of US GDP- nearly twice the 2023 levels and a threshold some analysts believe would trigger a debt crisis.” In short, because immigrants generate more income and taxes than in the benefits they receive, they are subsidizing the US government. 

Labor Supply Growth, Strategic Industries, and Innovation 

Immigration drives America’s labor supply growth. For the past three decades, immigration has accounted for about half of labor force growth each year and an even larger share in recent years. With an aging population, rapid increase in retirement, and lower birth rates, immigrants- who are more likely to be working age than US born neighbors- are integral to the US labor supply. In the Cincinnati region, 80% of immigrants are of working age compared with 62% of US-born neighbors. 

While immigrants are crucial for growing the labor supply, immigrant inventors are key drivers of innovation. Immigrants make up roughly 20% of the workforce in strategic industries but are responsible for 30% of patents in those strategic industries. According to the Economic Innovation Group, “In the information industries considered strategic, 44 percent of patents originate from immigrant inventors. In professional services, the share is 38 percent. The strategic manufacturing industry holds the vast majority of patents from across all the strategic industries. The share of its patents authored by immigrants is 29 percent—significantly higher than the 19.5 percent of its workers who are immigrants.” 

As the region continues to develop and attract businesses within strategic industries, we must keep in mind the growth in the industries’ demand for high-skilled workers and the key talent pipeline to meet that demand: immigrant and international jobseekers. Foreign-born workers make up 24.9% of workers in strategic industries with a bachelor’s or higher, compared with 17.2 percent in non-strategic industries.  

Keep in mind that in the Cincinnati region 47% of immigrants have a bachelor’s degree or higher and the region is a top destination for international students who make up large shares in graduate STEM fields. We must look to our local foreign-born pipeline to fill current jobs while leveraging the local global talent to attract more businesses to the region. Also, almost 29% of college educated immigrants in the region are in jobs that do not require a degree. We need to improve pathways for college educated immigrants to fully utilize their education and training. 

Taken together, these trends highlight a fundamental reality: immigration is a central part of how the US- and our region specifically- grows, innovates, and meets workforce needs. Communities and regions that recognize this reality and build welcoming environments for immigrant talent will be better positioned to compete economically and build shared prosperity in the years ahead. We need policies that help us continue to strengthen and grow our economies by reducing barriers to attract top talent. 

But the story of immigration is not only about workforce numbers or economic indicators. It is also about belonging and agency- whether people who come here from around the world can participate fully in the life of our region and shape its future alongside their neighbors. When communities create pathways for participation, leadership, and connection, immigrants are not reduced to just workers or entrepreneurs, they become civic partners helping build stronger institutions, more vibrant neighborhoods, and a more dynamic regional economy. 

For the Cincinnati region, the opportunity is clear. By continuing to foster a welcoming region—one where people from every background can contribute, lead, and belong—we strengthen not only our economy, but the shared future we are building together.