close
close

Illegal immigrants play key role in Idaho’s economy and agriculture sector, study shows • Idaho Capital Sun

Posted on by darion

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Illegal immigrants make up about 35,000 people in Idaho, accounting for tens of millions of dollars in labor and spending, according to a new report.

In June, the McClure Center for Public Policy Research at the University of Idaho published report“Idaho in Brief: Illegal Immigrants and Idaho’s Economy,” which presents key data from test about the role that illegal immigrants play in the country’s economy.

Katherine Himes, director of the McClure Center, told The Sun that the report was prepared at the request of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation and the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry.

Himes said there are limitations to accessing current data, adding that there is a “time lag” in the availability of the data.

“There have been no resources to collect new data or update existing estimates of the illegal immigrant population,” she said. “The most recent data on the number of illegal immigrants in the United States and Idaho is from 2021, and more detailed data is only available for earlier years.”

National trends, the report said, show that the number of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. has declined over the years. In 2007, there were an estimated 12.2 million people living in the country. In 2021, that number dropped to 10.5 million.

(Courtesy of Idaho at a Glance: Illegal Immigrants and Idaho’s Economy)

Contrary to national trends, the number of undocumented immigrants in Idaho has remained stable over the years, hovering around 35,000 between 2005 and 2021, according to the report.

(Courtesy of Idaho at a Glance: Illegal Immigrants and Idaho’s Economy)

Key economic data included in the report shows:

  • In 2019, illegal immigrants in Idaho had an estimated net worth of $570 million.
  • In 2014, the most recent year for which data is available, illegal immigrants in Idaho paid a combined $26.3 million in state sales, property and income taxes.

According to the report, undocumented immigrants play a critical role in Idaho’s economy and help Idaho’s industries — particularly agriculture, hospitality and construction — meet labor needs.

The report found that among illegal immigrants living in Idaho:

  • 92% are adults of working age
  • 86% are professionally active
  • 78% come from Mexico
  • 58% speak English “good” or “very good”
  • 48% have a high school diploma, some have higher education

GET MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

‘We are dependent on unauthorized labour,’ says farmers’ group

Idaho lawmakers pushed for policies to address the undocumented immigrant population during the 2024 legislative session, but at least one Idaho industry has been outspoken about its need for an undocumented immigrant workforce.

Rick Naerebout, president of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, has testified several times against bills moving through the state Capitol that could affect the workforce in his industry.

This year, at least two bills introduced in the 2024 legislative session aimed to implement tough immigration policies:

  • House of Representatives Bill No. 615would have prevented undocumented immigrants in Idaho from accessing publicly funded assistance. The bill’s sponsors, Reps. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, and Josh Tanner, R-Eagle, said their goal was to discourage undocumented immigrants from moving to Idaho. The bill failed to pass. In a 7-5 vote in the House Health and Human Services Committee, Democrats and Republicans said it would hurt undocumented mothers and children seeking immunizations, prenatal care and food assistance.
  • House of Representatives Bill No. 753replica controversial law in Texas that would create a new crime known as unlawful entry into a city, which also found its way into the State Capitol building. Representative Jaron Crane, a Republican from Nampa, presented a draft bill two weeks before the end of the parliamentary session. The bill passed the Idaho House of Representatives by a vote of 53 to 15, but did not advance to the Senate for a hearing.

If these or other immigration laws were passed in future legislative sessions, it could have serious implications for the state’s agricultural jobs and the people who work there.

According to data, Idaho ranks third in the U.S. in milk and cheese production. Idaho Department of Agriculture. However, most people working in the dairy industry in Idaho are not legally allowed to live in the U.S.

In contrast to agricultural and hotel work — Dairy work is year-round, and workers don’t have access to a visa program that allows them to work seasonal jobs. When 90% of Idaho dairy workers are foreign nationals and there is a regular shortage of dairy workers, the industry relies on unauthorized labor, Naerebout told the Idaho Capital Sun.

“The truth is that it’s been decades since the domestic population wanted to do the jobs that farming provides,” he said. “Farm work will be manual labor. We pay competitive wages, but these are not easy jobs. The domestic workforce will usually give them up and take on other, easier jobs.”

Naerebout said he will continue to defend the dairy industry’s need to hire unauthorized labor in future legislative sessions.

Do you want to contact us?

Do you have news?

“We are dependent on unauthorized labor,” he said. “Who would fill that void if those workers were not available to fill the positions that other people do not want?” he said.

Naerebout said the biggest misconception he has seen about undocumented labor in Idaho is that these workers have a negative impact on the communities where they live.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. “They contribute to society, and without those jobs we would have much less economic activity — especially in places like Magic Valley, where the entire valley is built around food production and processing.”

Naerebout said the McClure Center’s report on undocumented immigrants makes clear that the situation in Idaho is much different than on the southern border.

The number of illegal immigrants in Idaho has remained steady for years, and at least half of that population has been in the state for more than 16 years.

“They are very stable and part of our community,” Naerebout said.