Immigrants are crucial
to Texas’ economy

Additionally, FWD.us estimates that more than 1.2 million workers in Texas are without legal status or have temporary protections, representing nearly 8% of the total workforce, one of the highest levels among U.S. states. An estimated 440,000, or about one-third, of these workers had a protected status as of the end of 2024, such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), an active asylum claim, or other deportation-deferred individuals waiting in an immigration backlog. Most of these individuals work in Texas with lawful work authorization.

With such a large share of Texas’ workforce, immigrants without legal status or have temporary protections have become critical to the labor infrastructure of the state, especially during times of crisis such as the COVID-19 recovery or natural disasters like hurricanes and sudden freezes. These immigrants are particularly concentrated in the agricultural occupations (54% of all agricultural jobs), construction jobs (28%), and among building grounds and maintenance workers (22%).

Workers without legal status or having temporary protections are also highly integrated into Texas’ communities and society, with 41% being homeowners and 62% having lived in the U.S. since 2015 or earlier. Through their wages, they contribute more than $45 billion to the economy annually, with more than $10 billion in combined federal, state, and local taxes.

Immigrants help power major sectors of the state’s workforce, driving innovation, creating American jobs, and boosting economic growth. If Texas wants to continue being a leading global economy, then we need to enact policies that build a vibrant, inclusive, welcoming environment for immigrants of all backgrounds. Doing so is critically important for the Texan economy; it is also the right thing to do.