January 2015

NEW AMERICANS IN TEXAS:

The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians
in the Lone Star State
Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians account for growing shares of the economy and electorate in Texas.
Immigrants (the foreign-born) make up roughly one in six Texans, and one-third of them are
naturalized U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote. New Americansimmigrants and the children of
immigrantsaccount for more than one in ten registered voters in the state. Immigrants are not only
integral to the states economy as workers, but also account for billions of dollars in tax revenue and
consumer purchasing power. Moreover, Latinos and Asians (both foreign-born and native-born)
wield $297 billion in consumer purchasing power, and the businesses they own had sales and receipts
of $102.1 billion and employed more than 600,000 people at last count. As the economy continues to
grow, Texas can ill-afford to alienate such a critical component of its labor force, tax base, and
business community.
Immigrants and their children are growing shares of Texass population and electorate.

The foreign-born share of Texass population rose from 9.0% in 1990, 1 to 13.9% in 2000, 2
to 16.5% in 2013, 3 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Texas was home to 4,369,271
immigrants in 2013, 4 which is more than the total population of Los Angeles, California. 5

34.1% of immigrants (or 1.5 million people) in Texas were naturalized U.S. citizens in
2013 6meaning that they are eligible to vote. Another 31%of immigrants in Texas are
lawful permanent residents, according to the Center for Public Policy Priorities. 7

Unauthorized immigrants comprised roughly 6.3% of the states population (or 1.7 million
people) in 2012, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center. 8

12.6% (or 1.4 million) of registered voters in Texas were New Americansnaturalized
citizens or the U.S.-born children of immigrants who were raised during the current era of
immigration from Latin America and Asia which began in 1965according to an analysis of
2012 Census Bureau data by the American Immigration Council. 9

More than 1 in 4 Texans are Latino or Asianand they vote.

The Latino share of Texass population grew from 25.5% in 1990, 10 to 32.0% in 2000,11 to
38.4% (or 10.2 million people) in 2013. 12 The Asian share of the population grew from
1.8% in 1990, 13 to 2.7% in 2000, 14 to 4.1% (or 1.1 million people) in 2013, 15 according to the
U.S. Census Bureau.

____________________________________________________________________________
1331 G STREET, NW WASHINGTON, DC 20005 TEL: (202) 507-7500 FAX: (202) 742-5619
www.AmericanImmigrationCouncil.org

Latinos accounted for 21.9% (or 1.9 million) of Texas voters in the 2012 elections, and
Asians 2.5% (214,000), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 16

In Texas, 87.7% of children with immigrant parents were U.S. citizens in 2009, according
to data from the Urban Institute. 17

In 2009, 86.2% of children in Asian families in Texas were U.S. citizens, as were 93.2% of
children in Latino families. 18

Immigrant, Latino, and Asian entrepreneurs and consumers add tens of billions of dollars and
hundreds of thousands of jobs to Texass economy.

The 2014 purchasing power of Latinos in Texas totaled $240.7 billionan increase of
634% since 1990. Asian buying power totaled $56.3 billionan increase of 1,133% since
1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. 19

Immigration boosts housing values in communities. From 2000 to 2010, according to the
Americas Society/Council of the Americas, the value added by immigration to the price of
the average home was $26,813 in Harris County; $8,148 in Dallas County; $10,210 in
Tarrant County; $6,632 in Bexar County; $6,128 in Travis County; $2,503 in El Paso
County; $7,129 in Collin County; $5,509 in Hidalgo County; $5,228 in Denton County;
$7,876 in Fort Bend County; $3,088 in Montgomery County; $1,583 in Cameron County;
$2,536 in Williamson County; and $515 in Nueces County. 20

Texass 447,589 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $61.9 billion and
employed 395,673 people in 2007, the last year for which data is available. 21 The states
114,297 Asian-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $40.2 billion and employed
206,545 people in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureaus Survey of Business
Owners. 22

From 2006 to 2010, there were 256,849 new immigrant business owners in Texas, and they
had total net business income of $10 billion, which makes up 16.7% of all net business
income in the state, according to Robert Fairlie of the University of California, Santa Cruz. 23

In 2010, 20.3% of all business owners in Texas were foreign-born, as were 31% of business
owners in the Houston metropolitan area, 25% of business owners in the Dallas metro area,
and 25% of business owners in the San Antonio metro area, according to the Fiscal Policy
Institute. 24

Immigrants are integral to Texass economy as workers and taxpayers.

Immigrants comprised 21.3% of the states workforce in 2013 (or 2.8 million workers),
according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 25

Immigrants accounted for 21% of total economic output in the Houston metropolitan area
and 16% of economic output in the Dallas metropolitan area as of 2007, according to a
study by the Fiscal Policy Institute. 26

Unauthorized immigrants comprised 8.9% of the states workforce (or 1.2 million workers)
in 2012, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center. 27
2

Latinos in Texas paid $23.6 billion in federal taxes and $11.4 billion in state/local taxes in
2013, according to the Partnership for a New American Economy. In particular, foreign-born
Latinos paid $8.4 billion in federal taxes and $4.6 billion in state/local taxes. 28

The federal tax contribution of Texas Latino population included $17.9 billion
to Social Security and $4.2 billion to Medicare in 2013. Foreign-born Latinos
contributed $6.9 billion to Social Security and $1.6 billion to Medicare that
year. 29

Unauthorized immigrants pay taxes.

Unauthorized immigrants in Texas paid $1.6 billion in state and local taxes in 2010,
including $1.4 billion in sales taxes and $204.4 million in property taxes, according to data
from the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy. 30

Were unauthorized immigrants in Texas to have legal status, they would pay $1.7 billion in
state and local taxes, including $1.5 billion in sales taxes and $219.6 million in property
taxes. 31

If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Texas, the state would lose $69.3 billion
in economic activity, $30.8 billion in gross state product, and approximately 403,174
jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the
Perryman Group. 32

Immigrants are integral to Texass economy as students.

Texass 64,277 foreign students contributed $1.5 billion to the states economy in tuition,
fees, and living expenses for the 2013-2014 academic year, according to NAFSA:
Association of International Educators. 33

Foreign students contribute to Texas metropolitan areas. From 2008 to 2012, according to
the Brookings Institution, 7,217 foreign students paid $131 million in tuition and $106
million in living costs in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan area. In the
Beaumont-Port Arthur metro area, 1,680 foreign students paid $18.7 million in tuition and
$16.8 million in living costs. In the College Station-Bryan metro area, 6,736 foreign students
paid $95 million in tuition and $100 million in living costs. In the Dallas-Fort WorthArlington metro area, 25,353 foreign students paid $371 million in tuition and $277 million
in living costs. In the El Paso metro area, 3,877 foreign students paid $18.2 million in tuition
and $27.1 million in living costs. In the Houston-Sugarland-Baytown metro area, 14,785
foreign students paid $219 million in tuition and $170 million in living costs. In the Lubbock
metro area, 2,979 foreign students paid $24.8 million in tuition and $27 million in living
costs. In the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro area, 4,889 foreign students paid $73 million
in tuition and $49.7 million in living costs. 34

Foreign students also contribute to innovation in Texas. In 2009, non-resident aliens

comprised 53.9% of masters degrees and 52.8% of doctorate degrees in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, according to the Partnership for a New
American Economy. 35

Naturalized citizens excel educationally.

In Texas, 28.9% of foreign-born persons who were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2011 had a
bachelors or higher degree, compared to 15.2% of noncitizens. At the same time, only
29.3% of naturalized citizens lacked a high-school diploma, compared to 53.7% of
noncitizens. 36

The number of immigrants in Texas with a college degree increased by 91.5% between
2000 and 2011, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute. 37

In Texas, 75.2% of children with immigrant parents were considered English proficient
as of 2009, to data from the Urban Institute. 38

The English proficiency rate among Asian children in Texas was 85.7%, while for Latino
children it was 80.7%, as of 2009. 39

Endnotes
1

U.S. Census Bureau, The Foreign-Born Population: 2000, December 2003.

Ibid.
3
2013 American Community Survey (1-Year Estimates).
4
Ibid.
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
2

Ann Beeson, Leslie Helmcamp, and Alejandra Cerna, Immigrants Drive the Texas Economy: Economic Benefits of
Immigrants to Texas (Austin, TX: Center for Public Policy Priorities, 2014), p. 2.
8

Jeffrey S. Passel, DVera Cohn, and Molly Rohal, Unauthorized Immigrant Totals Rise in 7 States, Fall in 14: Decline in Those
From Mexico Fuels Most State Decreases (Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center, November 18, 2014), p. 30
9
Walter A. Ewing and Guillermo Cantor, New Americans in the Voting Booth: The Growing Electoral Power of Immigrant
Communities (Washington, DC: American Immigration Council, October 2014), p. 26.
10
U.S. Census Bureau, The Hispanic Population: 2000, May 2001.
11
Ibid.
12
2013 American Community Survey (1-Year Estimates).
13
U.S. Census Bureau, The Asian Population: 2000, February 2002.
14
Ibid.
15
2013American Community Survey (1-Year Estimates).
16
U.S.
17
The Urban Institute, data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series datasets drawn from the 2005 - 2009 American
Community Survey.
18
Ibid.
19
Jeffrey M. Humphreys, The Multicultural Economy 2012 (Athens, GA: Selig Center for Economic Growth, University of
Georgia, 2012), pp. 22, 24.
20
Jacob Vigdor, Immigration and the Revival of American Cities: From Preserving Manufacturing Jobs to Strengthening the
Housing Market (New York, NY: Americas Society/Council of the Americas, 2013).
21
U.S. Census Bureau, Estimates of Business Ownership by Gender, Ethnicity, Race, and Veteran Status: 2007, June 2011.
22
Ibid.
23
Robert W. Fairlie, Open for Business: How Immigrants are Driving Small Business Creation in the United States (New York,
NY: Partnership for a New American Economy, 2012), p. 32.
24
David Dyssegaard Kallick, Immigrant Small Business Owners: A Significant and Growing Part of the Economy (New York,
NY: Fiscal Policy Institute, 2012), p. 24.
25
2013 American Community Survey (1-Year Estimates).
26
David Dyssegaard Kallick, Immigrants in the Economy: Contribution of Immigrant Workers to the Countrys 25 Largest
Metropolitan Areas (New York, NY: Fiscal Policy Institute, December 2009), p. 11.
27
Jeffrey S. Passel, DVera Cohn, and Molly Rohal, Unauthorized Immigrant Totals Rise in 7 States, Fall in 14: Decline in
Those From Mexico Fuels Most State Decreases (Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center, November 18, 2014), p. 30.
28
Partnership for a New American Economy, The Power of the Purse: The Contributions of Hispanics to Americas Spending
Power and Tax Revenues in 2013 (New York, NY: Partnership for a New American Economy, 2014).
29
Ibid.
30
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Undocumented Immigrants State and Local Tax Contributions (Washington, DC:
July 2013).

31

Ibid.
The Perryman Group, An Essential Resource: An Analysis of the Economic Impact of Undocumented Workers on Business
Activity in the US with Estimated Effects by State and by Industry (Waco, TX: April 2008), p. 69.
33
NAFSA: Association of International Educators, The Economic Benefits of International Students to the U.S. Economy:
Academic Year 2013-2014 (Washington, DC: 2014).
34
Neil Ruiz, The Geography of Foreign Students in U.S. Higher Education: Origins and Destinations (Washington, DC: The
Brookings Institution, 2014).
35
Partnership for a New American Economy, Help Wanted: The Role of Foreign Workers in the Innovation Economy (New
York, NY: Partnership for a New American Economy, 2013), p. 21.
36
Migration Policy Institute Data Hub, Texas: Language & Education.
37
Ibid.
38
The Urban Institute, data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series datasets drawn from the 2005 - 2009 American
Community Survey.
39
Ibid.
32