Immigrants in Idaho: Major study analyzes the economic costs to Idaho of mass deportation

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – Idaho industry leaders are speaking out about the importance of undocumented immigrants to the state’s labor force and economy.

"We have a significant dependance on a workforce that's here without status. That's not unique to Idaho industries," said Rick Naerebout, Idaho Dairymen's Association CEO.

A new landmark study is highlighting the importance of foreign-born labor to Idaho's agricultural, hospitality, dining and construction industries.

"You look at agriculture, construction, hospitality – there's a certain portion of that workforce that's here without status, and we really need to create visa programs for these individuals to come into country, and be able to fill these jobs and have a system that's functional," Naerebout said.

Pew Research Center estimates approximately 40,000 undocumented immigrants live in Idaho.

Idaho's dairy sector, ranked third in the nation for milk and cheese production, is particularly vulnerable, as up to 90 percent of workers in the industry are foreign-born.

“There's been an ongoing discussion and dialogue about labor, the lack there of labor in the greater economy and specifically in the ag economy," Idaho Farm Bureau Federation CEO Zak Miller. "So we commissioned a study to just find out what it would look like if a portion of the undocumented workers that are in the state of Idaho were removed, and what the downstream effects would be on the economy of Idaho.”

If 28,725 undocumented individuals were removed from Idaho, the state would lose $5.1 billion in gross state product and $397.8 million in tax revenue – similar to the economic losses from the Great Recession in 2007 to 2009, the study states.

“In addition to removing over 25,000 jobs of individuals that are here without status, you would cause an additional 27,000 jobs to be lost, so a total of about 55,000 jobs would be lost in the state of Idaho," Naerebout said.

One in five jobs in Idaho are in agriculture, construction, hospitality and dining, and those jobs directly support 35% of all jobs in the state, according to the study.

“We're not afraid of the data because we believe when you have data, pragmatic and logical people can come up with real solutions," Miller said. "Our real solution that we find from the data is that the system needs to be fixed, it needs to be updated, and everyone should have access to a legal workforce.”

We’ll continue to follow the impact of immigrants on Idaho’s economy in the weeks to come.