NASHVILLE, TN - Last Wednesday (August 3), local business and community leaders came together as part of a National Day of Action to showcase new research on the positive economic contributions of immigrants in Tennessee and to highlight the critical need for immigration reform. The Day of Action marked the launch of the national Reason for Reform campaign, with events taking place in all 50 states, sponsored by the Partnership for a New American Economy (NAE).

The Partnership for a New American Economy brings together more than 500 Republican, Democratic, and Independent mayors and business leaders who support immigration reform as a way of creating jobs for Americans today.

The Contributions of New Americans in Tennessee shows that immigrants make up nearly five percent of the state's population and contributed $2 billion in taxes, or a little over five percent of the total share in 2014. That same year, immigrants earned $7.9 billion, or about 5.1 percent of all earnings in the state.

The Reason for Reform campaign brings together state business, civic, and cultural leaders to urge Congress to take action on immigration reform. Today's Tennessee Day of Action event coincides with the release of a new report including data on the foreign-born population in Tennessee, their tax contributions, their spending power, and their role in Tennessee's key industries as leaders and job creators.

Hosted and live streamed by The Tennessean newspaper, participants and organizations included:

• Jeff Aiken, President, Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation
   
• Eben Cathey, Advocacy Director, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition
   
• Toby Compton, President & CEO, Associated Builders and Contractors of Tennessee
   
• Yuri Cunza, President, Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
   
• Jose Gonzalez, Co-founder, Conexión Amerícas; Professor, Belmont University
   
• Dr. Ming Wang, Wang 3D Cataract and Vision Center; President, Tennessee Chinese Chamber of Commerce; Co-Founder, Tennessee Immigrant and Minority Business Group
   
• Tyler Wilkinson, Director of HR, The Bakery Cos.

"Tennessee is home to more than 300,000 immigrants who have made important contributions to our communities and state economy-- as taxpayers, consumers, employees and entrepreneurs," said Yuri Cunza, President of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.   "This new report helps quantify the economic impact of immigrants in our state, and highlights the many diverse and important roles immigrants can continue to play in our workforce and our society."   

Immigrants in Tennessee contribute to key industries such as landscaping, crop production, manufacturing, and construction. They make up 7.8 percent of all entrepreneurs in the state, and play a large role in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, a major component of U.S. economic growth. These and other key statistics on immigrants in Tennessee can be found in the NAE report here and also on our webpage HERE.

Also last week, NAE launched a new mobile tool that lets users make a video telling their Reason for Reform. Videos will be sent directly to Congress. Check out the tool  here.

The Reason for Reform campaign is launching in all 50 states today to urge Congress to take action on immigration reform. More information can be found at  www.RenewOurEconomy.org.

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