A new report highlights how immigrants are spurring economic growth in Ohio, and invigorating communities across the state.
The report, which was produced by the Center for Community Planning and Development at Cleveland State University, notes that immigrants in Ohio are some of the nation’s most educated.
Angie Lloyd is the executive director of the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation, which helped fund the report. She says that immigrants coming to Ohio are taking jobs that would otherwise go unfilled, such as in personal healthcare and elder care.
“We may want to make Ohio more welcoming because what we see in other states and what we see historically looking back in Ohio is, immigrants came here to work and to make this their home and that’s been beneficial both to the immigrants and to the native-born Ohioans. And that’s a great opportunity today," Lloyd said.
The report also discusses the need for increased access to legal, educational and healthcare options for immigrants as ways to make the state more welcoming.