Nevada Immigration Ratings

Hispanic Population

643,000

% of State Population

25%

Undocumented Residents

230,000

View Ratings Information

Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians account for large and growing shares of the economy and population in Nevada. Immigrants make up 18.9% of the state’s population, and 36.8% of them are naturalized U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote.

Immigrants, who account for more than 24.1% of Nevadas workers. In Nevada, nearly three-fifths (or 58%) of the children in immigrant families were U.S. citizens in 2007. Moreover, Latinos and Asians wield roughly $14.3 billion in consumer purchasing power, and the businesses they own had sales and receipts of $1.6 Billion and employed more 12,000 people at last count.

U.S. Senatorial Voting Record:
Immigration Legislation Immigration Reform

Senator Ensign (R)

Senator Reid (D)

	HS News Grading
Votes	Ensign	Reid
Border Security- Vote to Deny funding to complete 700 miles of border fence.(S.Amdt 1399 to S.Amdt 1373 to HR 2892)	A	A
Deportation- Vote for Funding of Sanctuary Policies for Unauthorized Immigrants.(SAmdt.2630 to HR 2847)	F	A
Workforce- Vote to NOT mandate that all companies with federal contracts verify all employees through E-verify. (S.Amdt 1371 to S.Amdt 1373 to HR 2892)	F	A
Workforce-Vote Not to extend E-Verify for six years (S.Amdt 604 to HR 1105)	F	A
Co-Sponsored DREAM ACT- Development Relief, and education for Alien Minors Act of 2009.( S. 729)	F	A
Overall State Grade:	N

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research and policy arm of the American Immigration Council. IPC's mission is to shape a rational conversation on immigration and immigrant integration. Through its research and analysis, IPC provides policymakers, the media, and the general public with accurate information about the role of immigrants and immigration policy on U.S. society. IPC reports and materials are widely disseminated and relied upon by press and policy makers. IPC staff regularly serves as experts to leaders on Capitol Hill, opinion-makers and the media. IPC, formed in 2003 is a non-partisan organization that neither supports nor opposes any political party or candidate for office.

← Previous State Back to State Ratings Next State →

View State Immigration Ratings

State Facts

Immigrants are essential to Nevada’s economy as workers and taxpayers.

Immigrants comprised 24.1% of the state’s workforce in 2008 (or 333,302 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Latino immigrants in Nevada paid roughly $2.6 billion in federal taxes and $1.6 billion in state and local taxes (including $500 million in sales taxes) in 2005. The money that Latino immigrants “earn and spend in Nevada accounts for about 25% of the State’s Gross State Product,” and Latino immigrant “employment, income and spending results in the creation of 108,380 jobs in Nevada,” according to a 2007 report from the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada.
Latino immigrants comprised about 16% of the state’s entire workforce in 2005, and an even higher share in select industries: 81% of the agricultural workforce, 47% of the construction and mining workforce, and 22% of the entertainment and tourist services workforce, according to a 2007 report from the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada.

Unauthorized immigrants are integral to Nevada’s economy as workers and consumers.

Unauthorized immigrants comprised 12.2% of the state’s workforce in 2008 (or 170,000 workers), according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.
If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Nevada, the state would lose $9.7 billion in economic activity, $4.3 billion in gross state product, and approximately 45,533 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group.

Latino and Asian entrepreneurs and consumers add tens of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs to Nevada’s economy.

The 2009 purchasing power of Nevada’s Latinos totaled $14.3 billion—an increase of 955.3% since 1990. Asian buying power totaled $6.1 billion—an increase of 980.7% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.
Nevada’s 9,741 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $1.6 billion and employed 12,874 people in 2002, the last year for which data is available. The state’s 8,872 Asian-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $2 billion and employed 12,713 people in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.

Immigrants are important to Nevada’s economy as students.

Nevada’s 3,006 foreign students contributed $70.5 million to the state’s economy in tuition, fees, and living expenses for the 2008-2009 academic year, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

Naturalized citizens excel educationally.

In Nevada, 27.3% of foreign-born persons who were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2008 had a bachelor’s or higher degree, compared to 13.2% of noncitizens. At the same time, only 22.6% of naturalized citizens lacked a high-school diploma, compared to 46.5% of noncitizens.
The number of immigrants in Nevada with a college degree increased by 136.7% between 2000 and 2008, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.
In Nevada, 74.1% of all children between the ages of 5 and 17 in families that spoke a language other than English at home also spoke English “very well” as of 2008.