Immigration is giving Maryland a much-needed economic boost | STAFF COMMENTARY

Any serious list of Maryland’s major economic assets is certain to include its health care and scientific expertise, its transportation connections (water, air and land), and its proximity to East Coast markets and the nation’s capital. Yet there is at least one more important asset that’s often overlooked or discounted: the state’s immigrants. We were tragically reminded of this important group last month when the Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed, killing six Latino men who were working on it in the wee hours of the morning.

The Office of Maryland Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman last week made the case for exactly how valuable immigration is to Maryland. In a 27-page policy brief, Lierman’s staff outlines how immigrants have greatly bolstered Maryland’s economy, especially since 2016. While Maryland’s U.S.-born workforce has grown by less than 1% since then, the immigrant workforce has expanded by 8% and now represents more than 21% of the state’s labor pool of 3.3 million people. Without them, the state’s sluggish economic performance during the past eight years would have been even worse, particularly coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report notes that immigration is among the most important factors for the country’s workforce recovery overall.

The good news: Maryland is attracting a greater share of immigrants than its neighboring states of Virginia and Pennsylvania. The top five countries providing those new arrivals? El Salvador (11.7%), India (6.3%), China (4.7%), Nigeria (4.7%) and Guatemala (4%). And where are most now living within Maryland? Montgomery, Prince George’s and Howard counties.

Make no mistake, most foreign-born individuals are in the state legally, with about 55% of them naturalized citizens and not just green card holders. And their value to the economy is clear. As the report notes, immigrants can be found in teaching, health care, food services, retail, the seafood industry, construction and many more industries, often filling jobs that employers can’t otherwise find candidates for.

In January, the state’s chief fiscal officer made waves when she released another report observing that while Maryland’s economy was strong, with low unemployment and high productivity, the outlook for growth was less than ideal — whether measured by GDP, personal income, real wages or population. The rise of immigrant labor may be Maryland’s best new economic advantage.

What the authors do not write about — though we are happy to point out — is that there is a huge contrast between the reality of the contributions from foreign-born labor and the political demonization of immigrants as, at best, a burden to our social safety net and, at worst, a grave danger to our safety and security. Obviously, immigrants should enter America through legal channels, and more often than not they do. So if the issue is border security, why haven’t Republicans in Congress consented to investing in heightened security? Could it be that they benefit politically by stirring fear and resentment, not by solving the problem?

Here’s our suggestion. The Lierman brief ought to be required reading in the State House and beyond. Not simply as a reminder of the contribution of immigrants to the labor force in recent years but as a road map to improving Maryland’s economy. Lawmakers should be looking for ways to make the Free State more inviting to immigrants. The opportunity is there.

The Baltimore-Columbia-Towson triangle was rated the second-best metro area in the country where immigrants are “thriving,” according to the George W. Bush Institute-Southern Methodist University Economic Growth Initiative, behind only San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara in Northern California. Why not aspire to be the friendliest place in the country?

“Maryland’s economy will only benefit with continued international migration to its shores,” the report concludes. In other words, let’s find ways to welcome immigrants — and put them to work so they can build a better life for themselves, their families and for all of us.

Baltimore Sun editorial writers offer opinions and analysis on news and issues relevant to readers. They operate separately from the newsroom.