Ahead of Trump Visit to NY, 6 Facts About Upstate Immigrants

August 13th, 2018

UTICA, NY– Today, President Trump will be visiting Fort Drum and supporting Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY) in Utica, NY. Recently, Fort Drum authorities detained two immigrant grandparents, who were visiting their grandson stationed at the base. Representative Tenney has been a vocal advocate on the construction of the “Wall” on the southern border and supports Trump’s Muslim Ban.

“Despite Trump’s hateful and fact-free rhetoric, immigrants truly make upstate New York great. From the construction of the Erie Canal, to the resurgence in our dairy industries, to the advent of groundbreaking science and technological research, immigrants get the job done. The President might want to take a break from the golf course and actually learn something about hard work,” said Steven Choi, Executive Director at the New York Immigration Coalition.

6 Fast Facts on upstate immigrant communities:

  1. Utica has the highest proportion of immigrants (18.2%) of any upstate city.

  2. According to the New York State Comptroller, the Southern Tier has the highest level of immigrant higher education attainment: two-thirds of Southern Tier immigrants have had some college education, over half have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Overall, the Southern Tier has the highest proportion of immigrants with graduate and professional degrees in the state. The Capital Region ranks second with over 60% of immigrants having a college degree or some college education.

  3. Immigrants in Representative Tenney’s district contribute $235.1 million in federal, state, and local taxes with a total spending power of $573.8 million.

  4. The Hudson Valley has the highest immigrant labor force participation at 70%.

  5. Over the last decade, New York has taken in 40,000 refugees– almost all of whom now reside in upstate New York. Immigrants have been key to the economic and population stability of upstate towns and cities. For example, between 2000-2015, Utica’s U.S. born population dropped by 100 while the foreign-born population grew by 3,500. In turn, these new Americans have started businesses, fixed up homes, and increased the value of local real estate.

  6. There are 32 upstate cities, town, and villages where more than 25% of the population primarily speaks a language other than English at home. The most common languages are Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and Yiddish.

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