This article appeared in The Urban Journal the week of October 16, 2002.
Crossroads: Immigrant Contributions to the Local Economy
Dona A. Vassall-Fall, Ed.D.
It has been hard to miss the dramatic increase in the immigrant population here in the Nashville-Davidson
County area in recent years. According to a report by the Center for Immigration Studies, of the nation’s 100
largest metropolitan areas, Nashville had the largest ratio of new legal immigrants arriving in 1991-98
compared with the foreign born that resided here in 1990.
Immigrants are defined as people who have come into Nashville-Davidson County area from a foreign country
and taken up residence here. According to the 2000 US Census, Tennessee’s Latino population swelled from
32,741 to 123,838 in the past 10 years.† In addition, Tennessee is experiencing an influx of immigrants from
Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Middle East as well. Of the workers in Nashville, one out of every six is
foreign born.
Many times the first reaction to this type of information is to assume that the impact on the community at large
will be negative. We might think of the fact that the new comers need to learn English, they need social services
and add more children to the school system. However, while adjustment to life in the Unites States varies
greatly and is impacted by individual immigrant experiences, immigrants usually do not come to the U.S. to be a
burden on the system.
Generally speaking, immigrants want to understand American life, integrate into the culture and benefit from as
well as contribute to the society. They come here to make a better life than they had in their native countries and
often can and do offer a lot of positive contributions to their communities.
To understand the potential positive impact that the new immigrants can have on Nashville, it might be helpful
to examine some myths that are often perpetuated about immigrants and the reality that those myths hide.
Research done by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) gives the facts that demonstrate that
the myths are indeed invalid.
One myth is that America is being over run by immigrants. The AILA reports that so far, no single decade has
topped 1901 to 1910 for immigration admissions and that the percentage of legal immigrants in the total
population has decreased. So while Nashville is seeing a larger than usual influx of legal immigrants, it does
not reflect a trend nation-wide. When given some thought, we realize that Nashville is not only seeing an influx
of immigrants, but also an influx of American nationals moving from other parts of the country. (I fall in that
category – I just moved back to Nashville with my family four years ago after being away for close to 20 years).
A second myth that many Americans believe is that immigrants take jobs away from Americans. To the contrary,
the AILA found that in fact, immigrants create jobs. They are more likely to be self-employed and start new
businesses. They found that immigrants start 18 percent of small businesses and small businesses account
for up to 80 percent of the new jobs available in the United States each year. We have evidence of that here in
Nashville, where the number of small businesses run by immigrants continues to grow. Members of the local
immigrant community start small businesses that range from grocery stores, to accounting firms, to dry
cleaners to doctors offices.
A third myth is that most immigrants are a drain on the US economy. AILA reports that immigrants collectively
earn over $240 billion a year, pay $90 billion a year in taxes and receive $5 billion from welfare. As anyone will
tell you who has immigrated to this country, doing so is not an easy task. Before they are allowed to enter the U.
S., new immigrants must prove that they will not be a burden on the society. They must provide bank statements
or other means of showing they will be able to support themselves once they are allowed into he country. The
AILA also found that compared to the native-born population, immigrants are more likely to be employed, save
more of their earnings and are more likely to start new businesses. A majority of the legal immigrants in
Tennessee are adults who hold jobs and pay taxes. Even immigrants who are not here legally contribute to the
economy by paying taxes of some kind as well.
Another myth is that immigrants contribute little to society. Again this is wrong. Immigrants bring many strong
and positive values and traditions with them. Immigrants, for the most part, are firm believers in family unity.
According to the AILA, they are more likely than natives to live in families: 76 percent vs. 70 percent. In addition,
immigrants are more likely to be married: 60 percent vs. 55 percent. Only 8 percent of immigrants are divorced
or separated compared to 11 percent of natives.
Education is often a priority for immigrants. While many lack a high school education, they are just as likely as
natives to hold a college degree. Immigrants respect the law as much, if not more, than native-born Americans.
They are less likely than natives to be confined to a state prison. Among the five states with the most
immigrants--California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas--only New York has a greater share of immigrants in
its prisons than in its general population.
Our immigrant brothers from Africa and the Caribbean can inspire us as people of African descent to learn
more about our culture and heritage. For example, there are lessons that we can learn that can help us
economically. They often come with a sense of the importance of working collectively and pooling their
resources instead of working alone. They often see the value of saving money instead of spending all the time;
many have an entrepreneurial spirit and start their own businesses. Of course, there is much that we can learn
from them in terms of our African traditions.
We can expect the impact of immigrants on the overall Nashville community to be great – but in a positive way.
If we understand the positive influences that immigrants can have on the community, we are more likely to
welcome them, learn from them and offer to have them learn from us. Understanding the truth behind the oft-
repeated myths should put us on the path to better relations with our newly arrived neighbors. In fact,
immigrants play a fundamental role in the community – and unless we are Native American, at some time in
the past, our ancestors were immigrants as well.
Sources: US Census Bureau, Nashville Chamber of Commerce, American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Dr. Vassall-Fall is president of Learning Link, a consulting firm that promotes education, diversity and cultural understanding.
Contact her at info@learninglinkco.net. www.learninglinkco.net.
Click here to go back to News page.
Crossroads: Immigrant Contributions to the Local Economy
Dona A. Vassall-Fall, Ed.D.
It has been hard to miss the dramatic increase in the immigrant population here in the Nashville-Davidson
County area in recent years. According to a report by the Center for Immigration Studies, of the nation’s 100
largest metropolitan areas, Nashville had the largest ratio of new legal immigrants arriving in 1991-98
compared with the foreign born that resided here in 1990.
Immigrants are defined as people who have come into Nashville-Davidson County area from a foreign country
and taken up residence here. According to the 2000 US Census, Tennessee’s Latino population swelled from
32,741 to 123,838 in the past 10 years.† In addition, Tennessee is experiencing an influx of immigrants from
Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Middle East as well. Of the workers in Nashville, one out of every six is
foreign born.
Many times the first reaction to this type of information is to assume that the impact on the community at large
will be negative. We might think of the fact that the new comers need to learn English, they need social services
and add more children to the school system. However, while adjustment to life in the Unites States varies
greatly and is impacted by individual immigrant experiences, immigrants usually do not come to the U.S. to be a
burden on the system.
Generally speaking, immigrants want to understand American life, integrate into the culture and benefit from as
well as contribute to the society. They come here to make a better life than they had in their native countries and
often can and do offer a lot of positive contributions to their communities.
To understand the potential positive impact that the new immigrants can have on Nashville, it might be helpful
to examine some myths that are often perpetuated about immigrants and the reality that those myths hide.
Research done by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) gives the facts that demonstrate that
the myths are indeed invalid.
One myth is that America is being over run by immigrants. The AILA reports that so far, no single decade has
topped 1901 to 1910 for immigration admissions and that the percentage of legal immigrants in the total
population has decreased. So while Nashville is seeing a larger than usual influx of legal immigrants, it does
not reflect a trend nation-wide. When given some thought, we realize that Nashville is not only seeing an influx
of immigrants, but also an influx of American nationals moving from other parts of the country. (I fall in that
category – I just moved back to Nashville with my family four years ago after being away for close to 20 years).
A second myth that many Americans believe is that immigrants take jobs away from Americans. To the contrary,
the AILA found that in fact, immigrants create jobs. They are more likely to be self-employed and start new
businesses. They found that immigrants start 18 percent of small businesses and small businesses account
for up to 80 percent of the new jobs available in the United States each year. We have evidence of that here in
Nashville, where the number of small businesses run by immigrants continues to grow. Members of the local
immigrant community start small businesses that range from grocery stores, to accounting firms, to dry
cleaners to doctors offices.
A third myth is that most immigrants are a drain on the US economy. AILA reports that immigrants collectively
earn over $240 billion a year, pay $90 billion a year in taxes and receive $5 billion from welfare. As anyone will
tell you who has immigrated to this country, doing so is not an easy task. Before they are allowed to enter the U.
S., new immigrants must prove that they will not be a burden on the society. They must provide bank statements
or other means of showing they will be able to support themselves once they are allowed into he country. The
AILA also found that compared to the native-born population, immigrants are more likely to be employed, save
more of their earnings and are more likely to start new businesses. A majority of the legal immigrants in
Tennessee are adults who hold jobs and pay taxes. Even immigrants who are not here legally contribute to the
economy by paying taxes of some kind as well.
Another myth is that immigrants contribute little to society. Again this is wrong. Immigrants bring many strong
and positive values and traditions with them. Immigrants, for the most part, are firm believers in family unity.
According to the AILA, they are more likely than natives to live in families: 76 percent vs. 70 percent. In addition,
immigrants are more likely to be married: 60 percent vs. 55 percent. Only 8 percent of immigrants are divorced
or separated compared to 11 percent of natives.
Education is often a priority for immigrants. While many lack a high school education, they are just as likely as
natives to hold a college degree. Immigrants respect the law as much, if not more, than native-born Americans.
They are less likely than natives to be confined to a state prison. Among the five states with the most
immigrants--California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas--only New York has a greater share of immigrants in
its prisons than in its general population.
Our immigrant brothers from Africa and the Caribbean can inspire us as people of African descent to learn
more about our culture and heritage. For example, there are lessons that we can learn that can help us
economically. They often come with a sense of the importance of working collectively and pooling their
resources instead of working alone. They often see the value of saving money instead of spending all the time;
many have an entrepreneurial spirit and start their own businesses. Of course, there is much that we can learn
from them in terms of our African traditions.
We can expect the impact of immigrants on the overall Nashville community to be great – but in a positive way.
If we understand the positive influences that immigrants can have on the community, we are more likely to
welcome them, learn from them and offer to have them learn from us. Understanding the truth behind the oft-
repeated myths should put us on the path to better relations with our newly arrived neighbors. In fact,
immigrants play a fundamental role in the community – and unless we are Native American, at some time in
the past, our ancestors were immigrants as well.
Sources: US Census Bureau, Nashville Chamber of Commerce, American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Dr. Vassall-Fall is president of Learning Link, a consulting firm that promotes education, diversity and cultural understanding.
Contact her at info@learninglinkco.net. www.learninglinkco.net.
Click here to go back to News page.
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