The Economic Contributions of Immigrants in Texas Border Communities

New research The Economic Contributions of Immigrants in Texas Border Communities from the American Immigration Council highlights the crucial role immigrants play along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas when it comes to the local labor force and economy. As of 2022, more than 5 million immigrants call the Lone Star state home, with many immigrant residents concentrated in Texas border communities. Immigrants living along the border have contributed billions of dollars in taxes, spent billions of dollars that are reinvested back into their community and across the state, and helped fill workforce gaps in different industries, which are critical to maintaining the vibrant Texas economy.

The reports were released in partnership with Texans for Economic Growth—a statewide 160+-member business coalition powered by the American Immigration Council—the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, the Laredo Chamber of Commerce, the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Borderplex Alliance, and Texas Association of Business. 

For more information, see our press release.

Key findings include:

• Immigrants in the El Paso metro area are contributing millions in taxes and consumer spending. In 2019, immigrants in the area earned $4.8 billion in income, with $591.8 million going to federal taxes and $440.7 million going to state and local taxes, leaving them with $3.8 billion in spending power that can be reinvested in the area. Robust consumer spending by immigrants supports small businesses and keeps local economic corridors vibrant.
• Immigrants in the Laredo metro area are creating new jobs in key industries across the area. In 2019, immigrant entrepreneurs made up 53.3 percent of the area’s business owners, driving economic growth in top industries, including construction, retail trade, and transportation and warehousing.
• Immigrant entrepreneurs in the Brownsville metro area are driving innovation and creating new jobs. Despite making up 23.4 percent of the overall population, immigrants made up 53.3 percent of the entrepreneurs in the metro area in 2019 and were 160.4 percent more likely to be entrepreneurs than their U.S.-born counterparts.
• Immigrants in the McAllen region are helping create or preserve local manufacturing jobs. Immigrants are helping strengthen the local job market by helping companies to keep jobs on U.S. soil and preserve or create 10,500 local manufacturing jobs that would have otherwise vanished or moved elsewhere by 2019.
• Immigrants in the Middle Rio Grande Valley are filling critical workforce shortage gaps. Although immigrants made up 19.1 percent of the region’s overall population, they represented 38.0 percent of workers in the manufacturing industry and 34.7 percent of workers in the health care and social assistance field.

More on the contributions of immigrants along the state’s border:

• Immigrants in El Paso, Texas*
• Immigrants in Laredo, Texas 
• Immigrants in Brownsville, Texas 
• Immigrants in McAllen, Texas 
• Immigrants in Middle Rio Grande Valley, Texas

* El Paso factsheet updated on September 23, 2024