New Americans Task Force: Seeking a positive economic & societal impact

Brice Wallace 

A new effort — this time statewide — seeks to develop a strategy to boost new Americans’ contributions to Utah. 

The New Americans Task Force, involving several partner organizations, recently convened for the first time, highlighted the positive impacts to society and the economy from foreign-born Utahns, and called upon people in the public and private sectors and throughout the community to broaden those contributions. It will build upon work done in Salt Lake County starting in 2016.

“The task force is a statewide effort to develop a comprehensive strategy that maximizes the economic opportunity, social inclusion and civic potential for new Americans, and to build an environment of belonging, right here in Utah,” Gov. Spencer Cox said via video during a briefing announcing the task force.

“We recognize the critical role that new Americans play in the economic prosperity of our state,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “They positively impact our economy through entrepreneurship, workforce participation, tax contributions and spending power. … We know this task force will help solidify our state’s global reputation, and we hope it will encourage other states to follow in our footsteps.”

A research brief from the American Immigration Council, prepared in partnership with the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, indicates that while immigrants made up 8.4 percent of the state’s population in 2019, they accounted for 10.1 percent of workers in the state’s STEM fields, 18.7 percent of those in manufacturing, 7.8 percent of healthcare workers and 12.4 percent of the state’s doctors.

Utah had 258,800 immigrants in 2019, including 14,000 who owned their own businesses, and most— 39 percent — came from Mexico. The immigrant population growth rate of 63.7 percent between 2000 and 2019 outpaced the state’s overall population increase of 38.8 percent and the nation’s 41.1 percent immigrant population growth during that period.

Utah’s new Americans in 2019 also contributed $1.1 billion in federal taxes and $572.7 million in state and local taxes, and held $5.4 billion in spending power, the report states.

Theresa Foxley, president and CEO of EDCUtah, said her organization recently formulated a mission statement that calls for “every aspiring Utahn to have a quality job” and that the task force “really aligns so perfectly with EDCUtah’s vision.”

“This research report and the task force will add value to every facet of our organization’s program. … It’s a terrific report and I would just say that before today’s event, we all intuitively knew that our state’s multicultural communities and our new Americans contributed greatly to our economy, and it’s really fabulous now to have the research and that quantitative information to validate that, but also to help us to identify a few areas of opportunity and improvement.”

EDCUtah, she said, believes that the talent offered by new Americans is a “win-win” situation: “expanded opportunities for individuals and families who want to contribute here, and a larger talent pool for employers in today’s historically low and historically tight labor market.”

Miles Hansen, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah, said the task force can contribute to the goal of making Utah the “Crossroads of the World.” The state already has people speaking 137 languages and leads the U.S. in the rate of export growth.

“This is our competitive advantage in the state … This international mindset is what makes us different from every state around us,” Hansen said.

Task force efforts, he said, can help Utah be a beacon “in a world that’s becoming increasingly dark and contentious and divided over a lot of issues, immigration included.”

“We believe that immigrants play a vital role in Utah’s No. 1 economy,” said Ryan Starks, managing director of business services at the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity. “If you think about the number of jobs that are created by immigrants, it’s astounding.

“So, we’re so appreciative of our brothers and sisters from other countries who come to Utah looking for the U.S. dream, the American dream. They add richness and culture to our community, they add talent and critical thinking, and it’s just so awesome that we as a state are embracing our immigrant friends.”

Starks used sycamore trees as an analogy for Utah’s economy. While not having very deep root systems, their roots are integrated, with strong connections to keep the trees in place. “If you look at Utah’s business community, we’re strong because we have a very tight root system,” he said, adding that immigrants “add significant connectivity to our root system that makes all of us stand stronger.”

The statewide task force itself will expand upon the earlier Salt Lake County initiative to maximize the contributions of new Americans. Among those involved in both efforts is Dinesh Patel, managing partner of the Patel Family Investment Services and honorary chair of the Utah New Americans Task Force. Patel said that throughout his career as an entrepreneur and business executive, he has seen new Americans contribute to Utah’s healthcare, life sciences, medical technology, STEM education, information technology and manufacturing sectors.

“Utah’s demographics are shifting,” Patel said. “It [once] was that everybody came to the Wasatch Front. Now the new Americans have gone beyond the Wasatch Front. The statewide task force builds on the seeds that were planted and have started to bloom, from St. George to Box Elder County.”

Patel encouraged businesses and communities to join the task force’s work. At the convening meeting, organizers were looking for people to serve on four work groups: economic opportunity, government leadership, connected communities and education.