June 9, 2011 _ A new study from the Brookings Institution, co-authored by IGPA demographer Matthew Hall, concludes that the growing economic contributions of America’s immigrants need to be better reflected in national policy.
The new report, The Geography of Immigrant Skills: Educational Profiles of Metropolitan Areas, examines data from the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. Hall (left), who wrote the report with Brookings Senior Fellow Audrey Singer and two colleagues, found that more immigrants have at least a bachelor’s degree than lack a high-school diploma.
“This is a major challenge for those regions with large high-skilled immigrant populations,” said Hall, who also is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “We need better strategies to match qualified workers with appropriate jobs.”
The new report is part of the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. It finds that in 44 of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas—including Midwestern cities such as St. Louis, Detroit, and Cleveland—college-educated immigrants outnumber immigrants without high school diplomas by at least 25 percent. Midwest metropolitan areas such as Des Moines, Kansas City, Milwaukee and Chicago are among the areas that have balanced skill levels among their immigrant populations, according to the study.
“With the United States at a critical point in both immigration policy and economic trajectory, policymakers should carefully weigh options to provide support for immigrant workers at all skill levels to keep the United States globally competitive,” the authors wrote.
