“With out our immigrant neighbors, New York Metropolis and the U.S. at massive wouldn’t exist as they do now”
New York Metropolis is marking June’s Immigrant Heritage Month with an “Immigrants Energy New York” theme, reminding us how immigrant New Yorkers searching for new lives and alternatives for themselves within the U.S. additionally contribute to the area’s workforce, financial system, and standing as some of the famed cities on the earth.
And what higher metropolis to inform that story?
“Greater than 40 % of U.S. residents can hint their ancestry again to immigrants who arrived in america via Ellis Island,” because the NYC Mayor’s Workplace of Immigrant Affairs notes. Even one of many notoriously anti-immigrant voices round can hint his roots to Ellis Island (however that’s a narrative for an additional day).
At present, a couple of out of each three New Yorkers is an immigrant, and their households have helped propel New York into one of many high financial contributors within the nation, paying practically $75 billion in native, state, and federal taxes yearly. Greater than 316,000 New Yorkers are immigrant entrepreneurs, and cumulatively their companies generate $8.6 billion in whole enterprise revenue.
“The theme this 12 months is ‘Immigrants Energy New York’, not simply in a metaphorical sense, however actually,” stated artist Celia Deming-Bernstein, who created the artwork to accompany this 12 months’s theme. “With out our immigrant neighbors, New York Metropolis and the U.S. at massive wouldn’t exist as they do now.”
Occasions honoring our immigrant neighbors have been underway everywhere in the nation, with extra scheduled all all through the month. In Pennsylvania, the Free Library of Philadelphia hosted an Immigrant Heritage Month kickoff to honor two and a half centuries of immigrant contributions to america.
“Because the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, metropolis officers are reframing the milestone as a narrative not solely of the nation’s founding, however of the generations of immigrants who’ve helped construct Philadelphia into what it’s at present,” Impacto Media experiences. The occasion, held in partnership with the Philadelphia Workplace of Immigrant Affairs, featured group visitors who spoke to how the town’s immigrant story is “lived and renewed day-after-day,” the report stated.
Based on Pew, immigrant Philadelphians account for practically 16% of the inhabitants, which is the best stage in 80 years. In truth, immigrants have “single-handedly stemmed the tide of depopulation,” The Welcoming Heart CEO Anuj Gupta stated final 12 months. These group members “generated $7.4 billion in client spending and paid $2.3 billion in taxes in 2024, demonstrating substantial financial clout,” the Economic system League famous in February.
In Tennessee – the place the foreign-born inhabitants has doubled in a decade – a show made up of a whole bunch of strolling footwear serves as a poignant reminder of the “sacrifice and resilience exhibited by immigrants and refugees who’ve come to america and have settled in Nashville,” WSMV experiences. Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) additionally reminds us that it’s no coincidence that Pleasure Month falls on the identical month as Immigrant Heritage Month. The “energy, pleasure, and resilience of our LGBTQIA+ immigrant and refugee members” make “our group sturdy,” TIRRC stated.
“The LGBTQIA+ rights and migrant justice actions march collectively,” TIRRC continued. “We are going to all the time defend our shared values of security, love, and liberation that make Tennessee a spot the place we are able to all belong and name dwelling.”
Haitian Bridge Alliance additional notes that June additionally marks Caribbean American Heritage Month, which honors the tens of millions of Caribbean immigrants “whose contributions have helped form the financial, cultural, political, and social material of america.”
“Caribbean immigrants characterize one of many fastest-growing immigrant populations within the nation,” the group continued. “Based on the Migration Coverage Institute, the Caribbean immigrant inhabitants in america has grown by greater than 40 % since 2010, with tens of millions of people contributing to America’s workforce, entrepreneurship, healthcare, training, public service, and innovation. Haitians and Jamaicans stay among the many largest Caribbean immigrant communities within the nation.”
Proud to characterize some of the numerous Caribbean constituencies within the US & lead insurance policies to assist our Caribbean American communities, like defending Haiti TPS.This Caribbean American Heritage Month, we rejoice our Caribbean American neighbors who name the #MA7 dwelling.
— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@pressley.home.gov) 2026-06-07T14:09:31.769Z
In California, the L.A. County Growing old & Disabilities Division equally highlights the vital function that immigrants play within the caregiving trade. “They’re the quiet pressure holding our care system collectively, offering care, love, stability, and training,” the Nationwide Ladies’s Regulation Heart stated final 12 months. “In 2019, 36.5% of all dwelling well being aides in america have been immigrants, a charge that was twice their share of the U.S. workforce total (17.1%),” the American Immigration Council stated in 2023. “This consists of undocumented staff, who made up an estimated 6.9% of dwelling well being aides and 4.4% of non-public care aides.”
Celebrating Immigrant Heritage Month! One-third of L.A. County residents are immigrants and their impression is immense. Each older grownup, particular person with a incapacity, & caregiver deserves to navigate their group with dignity no matter their birthplace. #LACountyAD #ImmigrantHeritageMonth
— Los Angeles County Growing old & Disabilities Division (AD) (@lacountyad.bsky.social) 2026-06-04T15:25:13.617729317Z
In Washington state, Refugee & Immigrant Companies Northwest is amongst native voices applauding the Snohomish County Council’s proclamation recognizing June as Immigrant Heritage Month. The group’s government director, Van Dinh-Kuno, stated her personal immigrant story “is without doubt one of the million tales from the refugee and immigrants” who “come to this nation.” She was simply 17 when she fled Vietnam following the autumn of Saigon and, alongside together with her household, spent days in a ship within the Pacific Ocean till they have been rescued by the U.S. Navy.
“We’re grateful for the good nation accepting us, enable us to be a part of the material of the nation, and explicit material of Snohomish County,” Dinh-Kuno stated.
Different social media posts marking Immigrant Heritage Month uplifted upcoming occasions and methods to take part within the festivities. International Refuge, for instance, desires to know your immigration story:
As we rejoice #ImmigrantHeritageMonth and our nation’s 250-year anniversary, we need to hear from YOU: What’s your American immigration story? 🌎We invite you to ship your identify, metropolis, and story (
— International Refuge (@globalrefuge.bsky.social) 2026-06-01T22:22:02.395595435Z
It is our favourite month of the 12 months! 🎉 Have a good time #ImmigrantHeritageMonth by honoring the colourful cultures that immigrants deliver to our communities.❤️ Study extra: ayuda.com/immigrant-he…
CHIRLA’s visitor publish on the one 12 months anniversary of the federal authorities’s anti-immigrant raids in L.A. serves as a reminder of the ability of immigrant communities coming collectively and is value a learn this month:
“Los Angeles is stronger than yesterday as a result of its individuals selected one another.”In a robust visitor publish, @chirla-org.bsky.social’s Jorge-Mario displays on how Angelenos responded to militarized immigration raids with braveness and collective motion.americasvoicecnn.substack.com/p/stronger-t…
— America’s Voice (@americasvoice.bsky.social) 2026-06-04T17:35:52.157Z
#ImmigrantHeritageMonth is a reminder that we’re a nation of immigrants. 🦋 From technology to technology, immigrants have helped construct this nation with braveness, resilience, and hope. Their tales are America’s story.
— America’s Voice (@americasvoice.bsky.social) 2026-06-01T13:16:07.691Z
It doesn’t matter what sure opponents would possibly declare, the very fact is that immigration is sweet for america. In metropolis after metropolis and state after state, immigrants, no matter authorized immigration standing, make greater than strong contributions that assist maintain federal applications like Medicare and Social Safety, fund faculties and libraries, and enhance native and nationwide economies for the advantage of all people. In 2023 alone, tax contributions from immigrant group members totaled practically $562 billion, serving to safe a more healthy and safer future for all.
And, not like the richest People within the nation, these immigrant staff contribute greater than their justifiable share. Previous analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Financial Coverage discovered that throughout 40 states, “undocumented immigrants pay greater state and native tax charges than the highest 1 % of households residing inside their borders.”
Immigrant Heritage Month ought to function a reminder to all of us that our nation can solely get forward if all of us get forward collectively.
