New Report: Immigrants, Refugees, and the Future of Texas

On June 23, 2016, the Supreme Court announced that they had deadlocked in United States v. Texas, leaving in place a lower court decision preventing implementation of immigration execution action programs that would have provided an estimated four million undocumented immigrants with temporary protection from deportation and work authorization. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s announcement, there is renewed attention on the Lone Star State, which embodies our nation’s rich, complex, and, at times, challenging relationship with immigration.

In a new report, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) examines Texas’ remarkable and growing diversity. The state is home to one in 10 immigrants in the United States; one in three Texas children has a foreign-born parent; and the state’s foreign-born population is growing at six times the rate of the native-born population.

The report highlights opportunities for philanthropy to support immigrant integration and foster prosperity and opportunity for all Texans. Ultimately, ensuring that immigrants, refugees, and their children are able to reach their full potential will go a long way to determining Texas’ long-term vitality.

This report was produced by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, and co-sponsored by Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio and The Simmons Foundation.