No state in the nation owes more to immigrants than California, where foreign-born workers play a vital role in the economy. An extensive analysis of census data and other information by the Orange County Register found that one-third of California’s workers are immigrants, a proportion that’s not only higher than any other state, but also “any advanced economy save tiny Luxembourg.” These immigrants were responsible for earning $260 billion in 2008.

 

The Register investigation also found that California is home to more immigrants (9.8 million) than any foreign country except Russia and Germany. Of this total, about one-tenth (1.75 million) are illegal immigrants.

 

According to the Register, “Today, most of the state's housekeepers, painters and cooks are immigrants. So are half of its software developers, a third of its registered nurses and a quarter of its business executives. A generation ago, natives of the United States dominated all of these jobs, indeed almost every occupation.”

 

If it wasn’t for this influx of immigrants, California’s workforce would have shrunk in the 1990s.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

California's Addiction to Immigrant Labor (by Ronald Campbell, Orange County Register)