Understanding the Impact of Immigration in Greater New Haven

Since the year 2000, New Haven has experienced a sharp increase in its immigrant population, making it "the fastest growing city in Connecticut" despite only modest growth in its native-born population. Understanding the Impact of Immigration in Greater New Haven uses survey and Census data as well as local and national statistics, interviews and field work to detail the social and economic impact of immigration on the Greater New Haven area. Now constituting one-eighth of Greater New Haven's population, immigrants are more likely than the native-born to be employed and more likely than the foreign-born elsewhere in the U.S. to be high-skilled, i.e. have a college degree. Immigrants also stimulate the local housing market and open small businesses that revitalize neighborhoods, such as the Ninth Square business district. Schools are adapting their curriculums to serve non-English-speaking students and myriad festivals and ethnic organizations enrich the cultural landscape. In producing this report, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven shows that it is "making immigrant integration a strategic focus" of its grantmaking. (Ariella Katz Suchow for The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc.'s Public Education Institute)

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