Many Immigrants Bring a Wealth of Benefits, Skills

A highly publicized Census Bureau report earlier this week said that one-quarter of all Californians--a total of 8 million people--are foreign born.

That compares with one in 10 people nationally who are immigrants.

While the data wasn’t broken out by county, the high level of immigration to California certainly holds true for Orange County as well. On the whole, many economists say, that’s positive for the county’s economy. The key is whether the foreign-born residents are a productive part of the population, said Esmael Adibi, director of the Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University.

On average, the immigrant base in Orange County appears to be highly productive, Adibi said. Many are well educated professionals such as doctors and academics. Others are entrepreneurs. Even relatively uneducated immigrants fill a needed role by taking jobs in restaurants and carwashes, as gardeners and in other low-skill areas.

Peter Case, district vice president of Merrill Lynch in Irvine, believes there is a great deal of wealth pouring into the county from the immigrant population because many are small business owners. It’s a phenomenon that is only now being recognized and evaluated for its impact on overall economic development and investment, he said.

The only members of the foreign-born group that are largely not productive are older immigrants who generally don’t contribute to the work force or the economy, Adibi said. But, he added, “My perception is we’re getting a broad-based immigrant group coming in.”

What’s more, Adibi said, with the general population in Orange County steadily growing older, the region needs an influx of immigrants to help fill the positions being vacated by aging baby boomers. In that regard, he said, “it’s a blessing to get immigration.”