http://www.lowellsun.com/ci_2811619
June 21, 2005

Study: State immigrant count booming
By JENNIFER FENN, Sun Statehouse Bureau

BOSTON -- If not for the tens of thousands of immigrants who have settled in Massachusetts over the past 15 years, the state's labor force would have shrunk up to 100,000 people and wreaked havoc on the economy, a new study reports.

The immigrant population in Massachusetts rose by 35 percent from 1990 to 2000, according to Census data analyzed by the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth. In Greater Lowell, the growth rate was 38 percent, slightly higher than the state average, thanks in part to a surge in the number of foreign-born residents moving to the suburbs.

“People should be aware that we're in the midst of a major immigration boom in the state, and .... were it not for immigrants, our state's labor force would be shrinking quickly,� said Ian
Bowles, president and CEO of MassINC, a public-policy think tank. “From an economic standpoint, statewide, we need this community.�

The data in the report come primarily from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing. While it includes both legal and undocumented immigrants, advocates argue immigrants are drastically undercounted in the government survey and play an even more significant role in keeping the state's economy moving.

“No matter what the study shows, how impressive the data in the study is, it doesn't even tell the whole story,� said Victoria Fahlberg, executive director of ONE Lowell, an immigrant advocacy organization.

Lowell's immigrant population was nearly on par with the state average. Communities surrounding the city saw a significantly higher-than-average increase in the foreign-born populations. Ayer, Dunstable, Groton, Littleton, Townsend, Tyngsboro, and Westford all saw growth of more than 47 percent.

Townsend's immigrant population dwarfed other communities in the area, growing by 158 percent during the decade. In 1990, there were 131 foreign-born residents in Townsend compared to 338 in 2000.

The share of immigrants in the state's workforce has nearly doubled from 9 percent in 1980 to 17 percent in 2004. But researchers said the lack of English-speaking skills -- statewide, 21 percent of the immigrant population has limited English -- is a major impediment to economic success.

“These new immigrants are important assets for the Commonwealth's economy,� said professor Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University and the report's lead author. “However, there is a clear and overwhelming need for increased education and training programs that can allow them to better participate in and contribute to the state's economy.�

Among all adult immigrants in Massachusetts, 71 percent are not prepared for the knowledge-based economy, the report found. The report's authors said there is a critical need to expand English and other education programs, and suggested the responsibility goes beyond that of government to include employers and private charitable foundations.

In Lowell, more than 22 percent of its population was born outside the United States, the ninth-highest rate in the state and up from 16 percent in 1990. Nearly a quarter of the immigrant population hails from Cambodia, followed by Portugal, representing 10 percent of the city's immigrant population. The city also has a high number of immigrants from Brazil, India and Vietnam.

According to the report, Lowell's Asian community appears to be spilling out into the suburbs, as Asians also account for most immigrants in many of the surrounding communities. For example, nearly 50 percent of the immigrant population in Westford and Chelmsford, hails from Asia.

However, Townsend, which had the largest growth in its immigrant population in the area, has very few Asian immigrants. According to the report, 52 percent of its immigrants were born in Europe or Russia; 38.5 percent in Canada; 6.8 percent in Mexico or Central America; and 2.7 percent in Asia.

Sun Statehouse reporter Julie Mehegan contributed to this report.

Jennifer Fenn's e-mail address is jfenn@lowellsun.com.