On Wednesday, August 3, 2016, a coalition of business and community leaders from across Oregon will come together to launch the Reason for Reform campaign. The event, hosted by the Partnership for a New American Economy (NAE) and Oregon Association of Nurseries, will highlight the need for immigration reform and present new Oregon-specific data on the contributions of immigrants. The Reason for Reform campaign brings together state business, civic and cultural leaders to urge Congress to take action on immigration reform. Portland’s Day of Action event coincides with the release of a new study, including data on the foreign-born population in Oregon, their tax contributions, their spending power, and their role in Oregon’s key industries as leaders and job creators. The Contributions of New Americans in Oregon shows that immigrants make up 10 percent of the state’s population and contributed $2.4 billion in taxes, or 10 percent of the total in 2014. In that same year, immigrants earned $9.9 billion, or over 9 percent of all earnings in the state. Immigrants in Oregon contribute to key industries, such as crop production, fruit and vegetable preserving, animal production, and manufacturing. They make up 11 percent of all entrepreneurs in the state, and play a large role in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, which are a major component of U.S. economic growth. These and other key statistics on immigrants in Oregon will be released in the NAE study on August 3. The Reason for Reform campaign will kick off with the release of 51 new reports (one for every state plus Washington, DC) and events in all 50 states urging Members of Congress to take action to enact reform.
