Virginia Farm Bureau Federation leaders say new data emphasizes the contributions of immigrants in the state’s agriculture sector and the critical need for immigration reform.

A partner of the American Farm Bureau Federation, New American Economy, has released a mapping of the impact of immigrants in all fifty states, all 435 Congressional Districts, and 50 metro areas—including Richmond, Virginia. Map the Impact features sector-specific data and quantifies every locality’s foreign-born population, tax contributions, spending power, home ownership, and voting power, among other items.

On Virginia, Map the Impact shows:

• There are over 1 million foreign-born residents in Virginia. Richmond, Virginia has 94,500 immigrant residents.
• In 2014, the foreign-born residents in Virginia earned $36.5 billion, paid $9.4 billion in state and local taxes, and held $27.1 billion in spending power. Respectively, in Richmond, the immigrant population paid $883.3 million in taxes and held $2.1 billion in spending power.
• The Agriculture sector contributes $2 billion to Virginia’s GDP.
• Immigrants make up 32 percent of farmworkers in Virginia
• In Richmond, immigrants account for 18.5 percent of workers in the Agriculture sector.
• For the 24.6% of Virginia farms that do grow fresh fruits and vegetables, the current labor picture is increasingly untenable. Between 2002 and 2014, the number of field and crop workers in Virginia and North Carolina decreased by 13.4 percent.

Visit Map the Impact for state, city, and district information that will help leaders grasp the influence of immigrants in America.

More information can be found at www.NewAmericanEconomy.org