By Story by TIM SULLIVAN
A new report shows that the immigrant population in the Rio Grande Valley is declining but that immigrants continue to provide crucial benefits for the region’s labor force and economy as a whole.
The report by the American Immigration Council says in the 5-year period from 2014 to 2019, immigrants living in Deep South Texas paid billions of dollars in taxes, spent billions of dollars, and filled workforce gaps at businesses and in industries.
Specific numbers in the report show immigrants contributed $3.2 billion to the gross domestic product in the Brownsville area, $2.5 billion in the Mid Valley, and $7.2 billion to the GDP in the McAllen metro area.
The Council’s study, reported on by the McAllen Monitor, was released in partnership with the business group Texans for Economic Growth and the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce.
