The Daily Inni: Champaign County immigration impact report shows need for inclusive community

On Wednesday, the University YMCA released the Gateways for Growth Community Data Report for Champaign County. The report was put together by New American Economy, a national organization aimed at documenting the impact of immigrants on the nation’s economy.

Deborah Frank Feinan, mayor of Champaign, made an opening statement at the conference program held at the I-Hotel and Conference Center.

“The hope is to use this information to do meaningful and collaborative work in our community,” Feinan said. “Whether it be a social service agency, a governmental agency, local businesses or maybe even a school district, these numbers help up adapt our community to better serve the people who live there.”

According to the report, there were 23,992 immigrants in Champaign County, which make up 11.6 percent of the total population. 43.5 percent of the immigrant population were University students, which make the other 13,558 people more likely to be long-term residents.

29.4 percent of the non-student immigrant population is from East Asia, 15.7 percent from Europe and North/Central Asia, 14.4 percent from North America, 12.9 percent from South Asia, 11.7 percent from Southeast Asia and 15.9 percent from other regions of origin.

In Champaign County, immigrant households earned $619 million. $119.1 million went to federal taxes and $57.2 million went to state and local taxes, leaving $442.6 million in spending power.

Following a presentation of the report, the program held a panel of local community members to discuss immigration in Champaign County and how to move forward with this new information.

Read the full report from The Daily Inni: “Champaign County immigration impact report shows need for inclusive community”