New York Needs an Upstate Strategy for Immigrant Inclusion

Jan 1, 2022 Immigration Research Initiative

Immigrants today are playing an enormously important role in the New York State economy, representing 23 percent of the state population and a similarly large share of gross state product. Extraordinarily diverse and robust immigrant communities help make New York what it is today.¹

New York State government has recognized this in many respects. New York’s state agencies offer language assistance in six languages—not enough to address the full need, but more than in most states. New York sponsors a nation-leading program to provide legal services to immigrants. In New York immigrants are able to apply for driver’s licenses or get state aid to attend CUNY or SUNY colleges without regard to immigration status. Some undocumented immigrants qualify for state-funded Medicaid, despite being excluded from the federal program. And, as residents reeled from the Covid-19 pandemic and recession, New York State created a landmark program designed to fill a gap for undocumented worker by providing something approaching what other workers got from the unemployment insurance system and stimulus checks.²

Yet there is so much more New York could do to support immigrant integration. In areas where immigrants face barriers to full inclusion in the economy—because of language, culture, credentialing, discrimination, or other issues—the immigrants themselves are limited in their growth, but so too is the overall effective functioning of the local economy.

The most important priorities for immigrant success are the same as the priorities for all New Yorkers: good jobs and housing, quality daycare, schools and universities, transportation infrastructure, parks and in general good governance. Yet, there are some issues that are particularly important to immigrants. And, there are some areas where solving problems for immigrants leads to a “curb-cut effect,” where, say simplification of business licensing or addressing cultural diversity in schools leads to improvements that benefit everyone.³

Upstate New York faces particular challenges, and also has some distinct advantages that are very different from other regions of the state. Support for immigrant small business development must take on a different form in New York City, where availability of affordable space is a challenge, than in Buffalo, where space is relatively less expensive but business support for non- English speakers is harder to come by. A program to create a welcoming climate should naturally look different in a rural county, where migrant laborers working and living on farms often form a big part of the immigrant community, than in a suburban area where immigrants work in a wide range of jobs and live in single- or multi-family homes. For state action, what’s needed is to recognize these differences and to craft policy to address all regions of the state without doing the same thing in each region.⁴

A central challenge for Upstate, particularly the region’s cities and rural areas, is decades of population decline that has slowed but has not reversed direction. This population loss, however, is driven not by especially high numbers of people moving out, but rather by a smaller-than- average number of people moving in.⁵ A natural conclusion is that if Upstate has an immigrant problem…it’s that there are too few immigrants. Upstate New York is not getting its share of the nation’s newcomers: immigrants make up six percent of the population in Northern and Western New York, seven percent in the Capital Region, and 10 percent in the mid-Hudson Valley—while the national average is 13 percent and the New York State average is nearly double that.

Mayors and economic development officials in Upstate cities clearly feel the urgent need to attract more people to the region. Yet, somehow immigration, the one part of the population that is growing, tends to be an afterthought in economic development discussions. Even without much support from public policy, immigrants are rehabbing housing, frequenting local stores, and sending kids to public schools—offsetting what would otherwise be an even larger population drop. A more proactive and welcoming stance toward immigrants, and a parallel focus on how immigration integration can be part of growth of the receiving communities, would be smart economic development policy. By embracing diversity, Upstate can create a context in which both newcomers and existing residents can succeed, and in the process make the region more attractive for newcomers eager for multicultural experiences and an inclusive environment.

Place-based economic development strategies can be one attractive way to bring together economic revitalization and immigrant integration. Immigrants are well known for their entrepreneurship, and immigrants are especially likely to be Main Street business owners— people who start restaurants, grocery stores, clothes shops, beauty salons. In the Buffalo metro area, for example, immigrants represent six percent of the labor force and nine percent of business owners, and fully 16 percent of Main Street business owners.⁶ These are not the kinds of big businesses economic development plans usually focus on, but they are the bread and butter of economic revitalization, and the kinds of businesses that give a neighborhood its character. Main Street businesses contribution to economic revitalization can be measured in the jobs created and business tax revenues generated, but it can also be measured in the ways they make neighborhoods that may have seen boarded-up storefronts more attractive as places to live and work.

In Buffalo, immigrants and refugees are bringing renewed energy to Grant Street, Hertel Avenue, Tonawanda Street, and Broadway-Fillmore. In Utica, Oneida Square, Bleecker Street and Mohawk Street are dotted by small ethnic businesses, from a Vietnamese market to Bosnian coffee shops and a wide range of restaurants—Thai, Cambodian, Lebanese, Dominican, Burmese and more.⁷ Related patterns can be seen in Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and Binghamton, as well as in smaller Upstate cities.

Yet, while immigrants may be more likely than others to start small businesses, they often face a set of obstacles that make it harder than necessary to start or expand a business. State and local governments—and local organizations and institutions—can help remove these barriers and in the process spur local growth.

Nonprofit groups and government agencies already provide a range of supports for small businesses, but far more can be done. Ensuring fair opportunities for immigrants to get small business loans through Community Development Finance Institutions or other options is one important step in the process. Changing the way banks assess risks, by adding factors that may not show up on automated credit records or by helping people understand how to improve those credit records, is a good example of a “curb cut effect” where making loans more accessible for immigrants can also improve access for Blacks, Hispanics, women, and other groups often at a disadvantage in getting a bank loan. Pairing loans with access to small business services and a place-based network of support and mutual aid can also be an effective way to spur small business entrepreneurship in a neighborhood.

Syracuse is a leader in this kind of place-based development that is inclusive of both immigrants and people of color. Up Start Syracuse, a project of Centerstate CEO, leverages the chamber of commerce’s relationships to connect small businesses to affordable and culturally competent business services and financing opportunities in an effort to put together all the pieces necessary to foster economic revitalization in targeted Northside and Southside neighborhoods. This Syracuse effort is part of the Build from Within Alliance that has partner cities across the country.⁸ It is a strategy that could be expanded across Upstate New York, and related efforts are already underway, on a smaller scale, in other regions. In Utica, for example, the downtown revitalization plan has been developed with input from The Center, a refugee resettlement agency that itself has helped spur growth in the downtown area as an anchor downtown institution by moving into a large formerly empty property. New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative provides many more opportunities to spur not just growth but a diverse and inclusive vision of growth in areas where it is needed.

Sometimes supporting a more diverse range of small businesses means looking below the radar of what is typically considered business development. Upstate cities might, for example, take a cue from the nonprofit Urban Justice Center in New York City, which has a project for street vendors, bringing them together as an industry group to help them address issues of common interest—from punitive ticketing to providing assistance to vendors for small business development rather than discouraging them through “quality of life” enforcement. From catering to babysitting to selling food at soccer games, there are many entrepreneurial ventures that could, with the right supports from government, business associations, or nonprofit groups, be brought from the realm of marginal side-businesses into fully operational business ventures.

For any revitalization effort to be successful it must also recognize the racial and economic context of Upstate. A recent report by the Century Foundation found that Upstate metro areas have some of the highest concentrations of poverty among both Black and Hispanic populations in the country.⁹ Addressing the intersectionality of race and nativity is important as a priority in itself. To take just one example: Immigrants are not the only ones to have a hard time getting bank loans due to lack of credit history in the United States, or to need smaller or shorter-term loans than banks generally provide, or to be challenged by cultural barriers or outright discrimination. Many of these are issues faced by U.S.-born residents as well, particularly those who are Black, Hispanic, or Asian. Immigrants who are Black or Hispanic or Asian may face intersecting obstacles, and those who are women often see an added layer of obstacles. Recognizing these intersectional challenges is itself important, and addressing them can be a way to help multiple groups at the same time as the knots of discrimination are gradually loosened.

Encouraging home ownership is another way to help immigrants, help others who face discrimination or disadvantages in the housing market, and lift up neighborhoods. In many cities with declining populations there are empty houses in need of revitalization at the same time as immigrants, refugees, and people of color are living in overcrowded rental homes. Not all renters will qualify for home ownership, and not all will want to buy or re-hab a home. But many are excluded from home ownership by the same kinds of issues that prevent them from getting small business loans.

A recent study estimated how many people might be eligible to buy or re-hab a home who are currently renters in a range of “rust belt” cities and cities with declining populations. It showed that in Syracuse, for example, there are many current renters who could comfortably afford to purchase and re-hab a house for $75,000, including 2,500 immigrant households, 10,000 U.S.- born white households, 2,800 U.S.-born Black households, and 300 U.S.-born Hispanic households. The story is similar in other Upstate cities, where buying a house for $75,000 is a realistic possibility.¹⁰

Any approach to encouraging home ownership and rehabilitation that does not reach out to immigrants and people of color is clearly missing an opportunity and setting itself up for political trouble. A few strategies combined could go a long way toward making it possible for current renters who can afford it to buy a home—for example, identifying properties for potential re-hab and clearing the way for their purchase, making it worthwhile for banks or credit unions to issue small loans, and finding better ways to assess a borrower’s credit worthiness than commercial credit records. Ensuring that lower-income people and people of color who currently live in an area are not squeezed out by increasing property values should be a central part of any development plan, whether as renters or potential new owners. This kind of neighborhood development can bring properties back onto the tax rolls and spur further growth, creating a climate that is welcoming and attractive to anyone—Black, Hispanic, white or Asian; immigrant or U.S.-born—who wants to live in a multicultural environment.

Expanding on New York’s strong tradition of refugee resettlement can also contribute to bolstering Upstate cities. Refugee resettlement is something New York is good at, with a firmly rooted network of resettlement agencies is each of the Upstate cities as well as in New York City and on Long Island. Refugees need help getting established in their new communities. Yet multiple studies have found that over time refugees learn English, get jobs paying salaries that put them in the middle range of U.S.-born workers, stay longer at the companies that make a commitment to them, and buy homes in their communities.¹¹ Utica, once dubbed “The Town that Loves Refugees,”¹² is a prime example, with refugees making up a particularly large part of the city population, but refugees contribute to the growth and revitalization of all Upstate cities.

Resettlement agencies are a critical part of the process: resettlement agency staff meet new arrivals at the airport, find them an apartment and furnishings, and help them to find a job, a doctor, English language classes, and a school for their kids. But most services for refugees are funded by the federal government, and generally only through their first 90 days in the United States. How much more could the resettlement agencies do to help refugees if the state helped them provide case management and other services for a longer period?

New York pioneered the idea of committing state funding to invest in the long-term success of refugees as a way of helping local communities and particularly benefiting revitalization of Upstate cities. The New York State Enhanced Services to Refugees Program (NYSESRP) was born out of urgency—in 2017, when the Trump Administration radically cut refugee resettlement —but the program’s success has made it clear that this should be a long-term effort and should be expanded. The program allows agencies to extend help both to refugees who are initially settled in the city and to refugees initially resettled in other parts of the country who may be attracted to places in Upstate New York where their compatriots are finding success. NYSESRP makes it possible for resettlement agencies to provide employment and training opportunities, English language classes, assistance with health issues, and community information sessions. Expanding on this investment would be a tangible boost to revitalization efforts.¹³

As communities become more diverse, their institutions also need to gain in “cultural competency,” a term that is often used to describe an ability to work with people from a range of backgrounds, with an ability to learn from varying communities and engage individuals within them. Culturally competent institutions are important to helping immigrants thrive while simultaneously creating a globally engaged local community.

Schools and a wide range of other institutions throughout the state would benefit from this kind of a focus on cultural competency. Head Start programs can be designed to include children from different cultures, for example, and build on students’ linguistic capacity in their home languages while simultaneously developing their English proficiency. Parks and recreation facilities can be attentive to attracting newcomers who may want to play soccer or cricket instead of baseball, or barbeque and play music in public parks—and officials may also be able to help negotiate potential conflicts that arise.

Faith-based leaders have played an important role in welcoming immigrants and refugees, and the faith-based leadership has also grown and been enriched by immigrants. Catholic churches that would otherwise have seen dramatically shrinking attendance at services now often have congregations with significant numbers of immigrants from Latin America. And Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and other religious leaders have joined Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish leaders in helping immigrants integrate and existing communities get to know the newcomers.

Libraries play a special role in helping immigrants get settled and advance. Libraries run a wide range of programs that are relevant to immigrant integration, from how to start a business to English conversation classes. Libraries have resources for the education of children (books in the native language of immigrants, picture books in English), and they can be a much-needed place for community meetings. Libraries are often trusted, safe spaces that are public yet do not involve stepping into a government office. Creating programs that are attractive to immigrants and doing outreach to encourage immigrant participation can be excellent components of an overall welcoming program. Keeping libraries open early, open late, and open all weekend could be one of the best investments a community could make: a small expenditure for staff time would more fully utilize the existing building, computers, books and other resources.

New York State should ambitiously expand its English language programs. Today, there are not nearly enough English language learning opportunities for the many thousands of immigrants who would like to learn to speak better English. The state would gain enormously if there were high-quality programs with seats available in every county and in every immigrant neighborhood. It would be a boost to the English learners, a gain for employment of local teachers, and a benefit to the employers. Making sure quality is high is important, as is job quality for those teaching the classes. There is a cost, of course. But it is easy to imagine that the return on investment would be large for doubling, quadrupling, or expanding even further the state’s commitment to English language learning.

Employers also have a key role to play. They can allow on-site English language classes, so immigrants who have to work can learn workplace-related language skills on the job. Employers can structure jobs and manage employees in ways that allow for real career ladders, perhaps linking to workforce development training at local community colleges so immigrants and others have meaningful opportunities for advancement. And they can remove some barriers that prevent immigrants—and others—from getting in the door. It is all too common, for example, that job training programs require a high school diploma or a GED as a condition of entry, even when they are training for jobs that themselves do not require a formal education.

While immigrants and refugees are highly likely to be employed, having a job is not always enough to sustain a family. A fair minimum wage is an important way to help working families get by. New York was a national leader in establishing a $15 minimum wage in most of the state, but the wage for Upstate is still $12.50 as of 2021. The New York State commissioner of labor is required to determine by October 1, 2021 if the wage in Upstate New York should be the same as it is in the rest of the state. The clear answer is: Yes, it should. Raising the wage would disproportionately help immigrants, refugees, people of color, and women in particular while also helping all workers at the lower end of the wage spectrum.

The state should simultaneously concentrate on enforcing labor laws so workers are treated fairly. The most pressing need is to add to the number of labor inspectors, so that employers can no longer avoid the law without running a real risk of being investigated and punished. Creating a context of compliance would significantly improve the business climate in industries where there are currently rampant violations. Enforcement may be bad for businesses that are violating labor laws, but it is good for those who are not, since they will no longer have to bid for jobs against competitors who are acting unlawfully. Increased compliance would bring added payments to the state’s unemployment insurance and worker’s compensation funds, and fines paid by those found in violation of the law would help offset the cost of adding inspectors.

Labor unions also play an important role in improving wages and creating a fair business climate by including immigrants in their organizing efforts and focusing on areas where immigrant workers are taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers. Unions press businesses to establish better wages and working conditions, which businesses often resist, yet unions also work to establish level playing fields across an industry, which helps improve the local or industry business climate. Unions have been key to enforcement of standards in many cases; while government inspectors cannot go to every business, unions can keep a close eye on where violations take place and can bring attention to them quickly.

A new type of labor-related organizing is also showing promise. The Restaurant Opportunity Center, the Taxi Workers Alliance, and the Retail Action Project, for example, have all in different ways pioneered strategies for helping establish reasonable standards for workers in sectors with large numbers of immigrants and a weak labor-market floor. Some of these examples from downstate or other parts of the country could be valuable to pursue in Upstate as well.

In rural communities of the upper Hudson Valley, Northern, and Western New York, jobs are scarce. Yet funding has been reduced for traditional skill-development programs for young people in 4H clubs, YMCAs, and public schools. Restoring and expanding these job skill initiatives may require state or federal funding, but they are an important way to help young people see a future with exciting opportunities.

In rural areas, immigrants are often most visible in year-round dairy farms, in seasonal jobs on fruit and vegetable farms, in seasonal tourism-related work, and working with horses at the racetracks. Improving working standards while maintaining and growing these businesses could be mutually beneficial to the immigrant workers and to the communities where they live. And helping immigrants and others to start businesses, and expanding opportunities for immigrant farm ownership, would be a step toward improving local economies.

Workers centers and worker advocacy organizations—such as the Worker Justice Center of New York or the Tomkins County Workers’ Center—help low-wage workers organize to demand their rights from employers by fighting against wage theft, advocating for legislation and administrative policies to protect workers from a wide range of abuses, providing legal representation for workers in need of assistance, bolstering unionization efforts, and providing education to workers as well as the broader community. Again, although business owners may not immediately recognize this as a way of helping them, in fact a strong workers center can have a real impact toward addressing rampant workplace violations, thereby leveling the playing field for all businesses.

In farm areas, New York is also slowly beginning to focus on improving legal wage standards. In 2019 the state passed a law requiring overtime pay to farm workers and granting them the right to organize in unions. Farm laborers, a century ago primarily African Americans and today overwhelmingly immigrants, have long been excluded from the state’s provisions for overtime and organizing rights, so their inclusion now is a welcome step toward justice and racial equity as well as toward more vibrant communities. Yet, the overtime wage passed in 2019 kicks in only after 60 hours per week, a very high threshold and far above the 40 hours per week typical for other workers. A farm laborer would have to work more than 10 hours per day for six days a week before qualifying for overtime; that threshold should be lowered to the same as for other workers. Farms are important to New York, and there are many ways the state supports them and can do more, but allowing them to treat workers poorly should not be an option.¹⁴

As in so many other low-wage jobs, one of the real challenges is creating opportunities for advancement. Farm owners can be encouraged and supported in thinking about diversifying their management teams. That would help the work begin to look more like a career for immigrants and people of color in these entry-level jobs, and it would help ease the strain of generational transitions among farmers. Many people working as farm laborers have an interest and have the experience to fill these positions, yet they are often not even considered as candidates for management positions.

And, tapping into entrepreneurship and farming traditions among immigrants, as well as among others who want to start farming but have long been underrepresented or excluded, can be a way to build on the growing movement toward locally grown food from small farms. In the Finger Lakes region, the Groundswell Center for Local Foods and Farming provides aid to people who are interested in the next generation of sustainable farming. Their incubator and other programs are open to all, but particularly prioritize immigrants, people of color, and women. This is a model that can be expanded locally, and across the farm country.¹⁵ As with similar efforts in urban areas, these types of support do not radically alter the business environment; businesses still need to make sense on their own terms. But, a rich ecosystem of support can “bend the curve,” helping more businesses to start, and more to thrive.

New York is also a border state. The Canadian border looks very different from the Mexican border, of course. But within 100 miles of all U.S. borders, including New York’s northern border, there are Border Patrol checkpoints and extended authority for the Border Patrol agents that affect anyone living in or traveling through that area. This makes it uncomfortable for everyone, and has a greater effect on those who may be thought to look like an immigrant, regardless of immigration status, with the most dramatic and potentially life-changing impact on the lives of unauthorized immigrants in the region.

The northern border also matters in a different way. Many New Yorkers travel to Canada for shopping, pleasure, or work, and many Canadians live in northern New York State. As both the Trump Administration’s border policies and Canadian restrictions due to the Covid virus made clear, when the border is hardened there are disruptions to a wide range of businesses and residents on both sides of the border.

Some of what’s needed can only be done by the federal government. It is a relief to see the Biden-Harris Administration grappling with the big question of a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. That would help 10.5 million undocumented immigrants in the United States—680,000 in New York State, with about 56,000 of those in the Upstate region.¹⁶

Among the many benefits of a pathway to citizenship are increases in the incomes earned by immigrants, and the resulting increase in tax revenues. A recent Fiscal Policy Institute report estimates that the first step on this pathway, legal status, would raise wages by an estimated $3,500 per household, as immigrants are less likely to be taken advantage of by their employers and more likely to be able to take advantage of opportunities to advance in their careers. A subsequent step from legal status to citizenship is predicted to add another $3,000 to household wages.

And, localities and the state will benefit from increased tax revenues. State and local taxes collected today from undocumented immigrants is $890 million—in sales taxes, income taxes filed (often filed using an ITIN number), and property taxes (which are paid by home owners and partly paid by renters who make it possible for the landlord to pay taxes). If all New York residents who are currently undocumented gained citizenship that would increase state and local tax revenues from this group of immigrants to $1.19 billion, a difference of $300 million.¹⁷

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Immigration has been a part of the story of Upstate New York stretching back in time past the Irish and Germans who helped build the Erie Canal all the way to some of the earliest European settlements in the country. Immigration has never come without tumult: hardship for immigrants, backlash from nativists, drawing and redrawing of lines of racial and ethnic division. Yet this country has genuinely been a haven and a place of opportunity for immigrants, and immigrants have been part of every aspect of America’s growth.

There is no doubt that immigrants and refugees have a far better life in the United States than in the circumstances they come from. Over time, immigrants and refugees also do relatively well compared to U.S.-born New Yorkers, who also face many challenges in a very polarized economy and unequal society.

Yet, how much better could we all do if we truly invested in programs to learn English, to get job training, to help with daycare and healthcare and place-based small business development? And, if New York State agencies got better at serving immigrants with real cultural competency there is good reason to think they would in the process learn how to serve other communities better as well.¹⁸

When immigrants do not reach their full potential it is not only a loss for immigrants, it holds back New York State’s economy. By the same token, helping immigrants succeed is not only good for immigrants, it can also create a stronger, more vibrant, and more inclusive local economy. Upstate New York has a lot to gain by welcoming immigrants and embracing a multicultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-racial future.

1
Immigrant population estimates, here and throughout, are Fiscal Policy Institute calculations from the 2018 American Community Survey 5-year data unless otherwise noted. For a detailed analysis of the immigrant share of gross state product, see “Working for a Better Life: A Profile of Immigrants in the New York State Economy,” Fiscal Policy Institute, 2007, Appendix B. Lower Hudson Valley is defined as Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester counties. Mid-Hudson Valley is Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster counties. Capital Region is Albany, Columbia, Greene, Fulton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Washington, and Warren counties. Northern and Western New York is north and west of these regions. “Immigrant” and “foreign-born” are used interchangeably here, as is common in the literature about immigration. Immigrants include all foreign-born people residing in the United states: refugees, asylees, people who are undocumented, those who have temporary visas, and those who have become naturalized citizens. People born in Puerto Rico and people from other U.S. territories, who share some characteristics with immigrants, are U.S. citizens by birth. The children of immigrants who were born in this country—a large majority of the children of immigrants—are U.S. citizens by birth.
2
David Dyssegaard Kallick, “Excluded Worker Fund: Aid to Undocumented Workers, Economic Boost Across New York State,” Fiscal Policy Institute, April 7, 2021. See also Annie Correal and Luis Ferré-Sadurní, “$2.1 Billion for Undocumented Workers Signals New York’s Progressive Shift,” New York Times, April 8, 2021.
3
“The Curb-Cut Effect” is the title of an article by Angela Glover Blackwell that highlights how making a small incline between the street and the curb, initially intended to allow wheelchairs to get from the street to the sidewalk, also proved beneficial to people with strollers or luggage, skateboarders, and delivery people pushing carts. Blackwell makes the point that this “curb-cut effect”—a policy intended to help one group that actually helps many more—can be seen in a variety of policies. See Angela Glover Blackwell, “The Curb-Cut Effect,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2017.
4
This chapter draws heavily on a working paper that summarized the input of people working on immigrant and refugee integration throughout the state. That report, and the list of participants who contributed to the ideas generated, is available at https://fiscalpolicy.org/immigrants-and-local-economic-growth-realizing-new-yorks-full- potential. It also benefits from the ongoing work of the New York for Refugees coalition and the leaders of the 14 refugee resettlement agencies in New York State. Special thanks to Cyierra Roldan, Eva Hassett, Shelly Callahan, Max Pfeffer and Rae Rosen for their comments on this chapter, and to Ke Zeng for the microdata analysis cited.
5
The Federal Reserve bank of Buffalo made a similar point about the outmigration of educated young people in Upstate cities: It is not that young people are leaving Upstate more than they leave other areas, it is that there is a lack of young people moving in. See Richard Deitz, “A Brain Drain, or an Insufficient Brain Gain?,” Upstate New York at a Glance, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Buffalo Branch, August 2007.
6
David Dyssegaard Kallick, “Bringing Vitality to Main Street: How Immigrant Small Businesses Help Local Economies Grow,” Fiscal Policy Institute and Americas Society/Council of the Americas, January 2015.
7
David Dyssegaard Kallick, “Immigrant Small Business Owners: A Significant and Growing Part of the Economy,” Fiscal Policy Institute, June 2012. See also: David Dyssegaard Kallick and Eva Hassett, “Refugees are Powering Buffalo’s Revitalization,” Buffalo News, March 2, 2017, and David Dyssegaard Kallick and Shelley Callahan, “Refugees Good for Utica’s Economic Development,” Utica Observer Dispatch, March 8, 2017
8
For the Centerstate CEO programs, see https://www.centerstateceo.com/about-us/partners-programs/start. For the Build from Within Alliance, https://www.bfwalliance.org/
9
According to a Century Foundation report, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo are among the ten metro areas in the country with the highest concentrations of poverty for both Black and Hispanic populations. Paul Jargowsky, “Architecture of Segregation,” The Century Foundation, August 7, 2015.
10
See David Dyssegaard Kallick and Steve Tobocman, “Do Immigrants Represent an Untapped Opportunity to Revitalize Communities?,” Welcoming Economies Global Network and Fiscal Policy Institute, 2016. https:// www.weglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/WE_Distressed-Housing-Report_H.pdf. For individual cities see the interactive tool https://www.weglobalnetwork.org/landbank/ An immigrant household is one with at least one foreign-born adult, and similar definitions are used for U.S.-born Black and Hispanic households.
11
David Dyssegaard Kallick with Silva Mathema, “Refugee Integration in the United States,” Fiscal Policy Institute and Center for American Progress, June 2016. For an overview of several studies, see Hamutal Bernstein, “Bringing Evidence to the Refugee Resettlement Debate,” Urban Institute, April 9, 2018. For a study of refugee integration in Utica, see Paul Hagstrom, “The Fiscal Impact of Refugee Resettlement in the Mohawk Valley,” June 2000, which shows that refugees are a net fiscal cost in the first years of resettlement and then a net fiscal benefit after 15 years. On refugees staying longer with a company—i.e., lower turnover rates—see David Dyssegaard Kallick and Cyierra Roldan, “Refugees as Employees: Strong Retention, Good Recruitment,” Fiscal Policy Institute and Tent Partnership for Refugees, May 2018.
12
Ray Wilkinson, “The Town that Loves Refugees,” Refugees Magazine, published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, volume 1, Number 138, 2005.
13
For more information on the program, see https://fiscalpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/NY4Refugees-Two-Pager.pdf, or Christina Goldbaum, “Luring Refugees: New York Cities Desperate for People Try a New Strategy,” New York Times, May 13, 2019
14
David Dyssegaard Kallick, Margaret Gray, and Olivia Heffernan, “Farm Workers’ Overtime Pay is Affordable and Long Overdue,” Fiscal Policy Institute, May 2019.
15
See, https://groundswellcenter.org, and also “Groundswell Center Wins Grant to Expand,” Ithaca News, September 23, 2019.
16
Estimates of undocumented immigrants in New York State provided to the Fiscal Policy Institute by the Center for Migration Studies. Analysis is based on the methodology described here: http://data.cmsny.org/about.html. The Upstate region here includes the Mid-Hudson Valley, the Capital region, and Northern and Western New York. Estimates are grounded in the 2018 American Community Survey.
17
David Dyssegaard Kallick, “A Pathway to Citizenship: Doing Well by Doing Good,” Fiscal Policy Institute, February 1, 2021.
18
To highlight just one example: the Fiscal Policy Institute found that in Philadelphia, when the small business services department revised the licensing process for small businesses to accommodate immigrants, it also improved it for other groups who found the process hard to navigate. See “Bringing Vitality to Main Street,” pp. 16-23, in particular page 23. Or, see “Refugees as Employees,” which found that hiring refugees required managers to learn new skills that made them not just better managers of refugees, but better managers.