Tennessee Immigration Ratings

Hispanic Population

212,000

% of State Population

Undocumented Residents

150,000

View Ratings Information

Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians account for large and growing shares of the economy and population in Tennessee. Immigrants make up roughly 4% of the state’s population, and nearly one-third of them are naturalized U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote.

Latinos and Asians account for nearly 5% of Tennesseans and wield $7.8 billion in consumer purchasing power. At last count, the sales and receipts of businesses owned by Latinos and Asians totaled $3.2 billion and employed roughly 30,000 people. The Memphis metropolitan area is home to the state’s largest proportion of Latinos, whose economic contributions totaled $1.02 billion in 2001.

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

Senator Alexander (R)

Senator Corker (R)

	HS News Grading
Votes	Alexander	Corker
Border Security- Vote to Deny funding to complete 700 miles of border fence.(S.Amdt 1399 to S.Amdt 1373 to HR 2892)	F	F
Deportation- Vote for Funding of Sanctuary Policies for Unauthorized Immigrants.(SAmdt.2630 to HR 2847)	F	F
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	F
Workforce-Vote Not to extend E-Verify for six years (S.Amdt 604 to HR 1105)	F	F
Co-Sponsored DREAM ACT- Development Relief, and education for Alien Minors Act of 2009.( S. 729)	F	F
Overall State Grade:	F

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.

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State Facts

Immigrants and their children are growing shares of Tennessee’s population and electorate.

The foreign-born share of Tennessee’s population rose from 1.2% in 1990, to 2.8% in 2000, to 4.1% in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Tennessee was home to 249,552 immigrants in 2007,4 which is roughly equal to the total population of Lincoln, Nebraska.
31.2% of immigrants (or 77,896 people) in Tennessee were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2007—meaning that they are eligible to vote.
1.3% (or 36,764) of all registered voters in Tennessee are “New Americans”—naturalized citizens or the U.S.-born children of immigrants who were raised during the current era of immigration from Latin America and Asia which began in 1965—according to an analysis of 2006 Census Bureau data by Rob Paral & Associates.

Nearly 5% of Tennesseans are Latino or Asian.

The Latino share of Tennessee’s population grew from 0.7% in 1990, to 2.2% in 2000, to 3.4% (or 209,328 people) in 2007. The Asian share of the population grew from 0.6% in 1990, to 1.0% in 2000, to 1.3% (or 80,037 people) in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Latinos comprised 1.4% (or 34,000) of Tennessee voters in the 2008 elections, and Asians 0.7% (or 18,000), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Memphis metropolitan area has the largest proportion of Latinos in the state, and they contribute to the economy.

The Latino share of the population in the Memphis metropolitan area rose from 0.75% in 1990, to 2.4% in 2000, to 3.6% (or 46,291 people) in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Latino workers had a total economic impact of $1.02 billion in the Memphis area, according to a 2001 report from the University of Memphis.
Latino workers in the Memphis area earned $570.8 million in wages and salaries in 2000, paid at least $85.6 million in payroll and income taxes, and generated approximately $12.3 million in local and state sales tax, according to the same study.
Latinos spent more than $359 million in the local Memphis area economy in 2000,20 including:

• $45 million in local grocery stores
• $20.2 million in restaurants
• $74.8 million for housing
• $49.4 million for utilities, furnishings and household supplies
• $23.1 million for clothing
• $69.0 million for transportation or car operation
• $14.2 million for health care services
• $38.1 million for other consumption items
• $26.0 million for savings in local banks

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

The 2008 purchasing power of Tennessee’s Latinos totaled $4.6 billion—an increase of 1053% since 1990. Asian buying power totaled $3.2 billion—an increase of 565.4% since 1990, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.
Tennessee’s 7,241 Asian-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $2.2 billion and employed 21,971 people in 2002,22 the last year for which data is available. The state’s 4,301 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $1.0 billion and employed 7,995 people in 2002,23 according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners.

Immigrants are essential to Tennessee’s economy as workers.

Immigrants comprised 5.2% of the state’s workforce in 2007 (or 160,290 workers), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Unauthorized immigrants comprised 3.6% of the state’s workforce in 2008 (or 110,000 workers), according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.
If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Tennessee in 2008, the state would lose $3.8 billion in expenditures, $1.7 billion in economic output, and approximately 25,919 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group.

Naturalized Citizens Excel Educationally.

In Tennessee, 39.0% of foreign-born persons who were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2007 had a bachelor’s or higher degree, compared to 23.7% of noncitizens. Only 15.7% of naturalized citizens lacked a high-school diploma, compared to 40.5% of noncitizens.
The number of immigrants in Tennessee with a college degree increased by 56.0% between 2000 and 2007, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.
29.2% of Tennessee’s foreign-born population age 25 and older had a bachelor’s or higher degree in 2007, compared to 21.5% of native-born persons age 25 and older.
In Tennessee, 71.5% 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 2007.