WLTX: “Study Shows Impact Immigrants Have on Palmetto State”

A new study conducted by the New American Economy, a bipartisan group who supports immigration reform, shows that immigrants make up 4.7 percent of South Carolina’s population and paid $1.3 Billion in federal and state taxes in 2014.

The study also shows that immigrants held $4.1 Billion in spending power in that same year.

This was all done to show the financial and economic impact around the nation.

In South Carolina, the agricultural industry relies heavily on immigration. The director of government relations for the SC Farm Bureau says legal immigration is vital to the state’s economy.

“Immigration reform is vital for us to have a reliable and legal workforce so that we can plant our crops and harvest our crops,” says Gary Spires. “Crops are perishable and there’s always a window of time that we have to get them in and get them out. So, having a workforce that’s reliable is key for us to exist.”

Immigrants make up 9 percent of the state’s entrepreneurs and 47,000 people are employed by immigrant-owned farms.

Read the full story from WLTX: “Study Shows Impact Immigrants Have on Palmetto State“