In the metropolitan area, the labor force is growing 1% annually, while new sources of jobs are increasing by 2% annually, signifying that, "We are running out of workers. Immigrants are a very important source of workers for this area," reports the study "Living and Working the American Dream: Immigration and the Washington, DC Area" conducted by the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution in Virginia.

"For this reason, many immigrants hold two jobs," adds the study's author, academic Bronwyn Lance.

At least in this region--notes the study--immigrant workers do not displace the natives nor do they lower salaries.

"Immigrants and their labor have aided in lowering the prices on goods and services , and pushed the economy through the creation of their own businesses." explains the study, supported by a report by the National Research Council.

Although a good number of immigrants dedicate themselves to small food or mail related businesses, many have ventured into technological sectors thanks to an increase in the number of immigrants holding science degrees during the past decade(and a concurrent decrease in natives with science degrees). In 1997, 40% of the doctorates in computing, electronics and engineering corresponded to immigrants.

The stories of immigrants who set off with nothing and constructed great or small empires are old and well known. The study details several such cases in the region, none with the dimensions of Andrew Grove or Andrew Carnegie, which exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit of the immigrant.

Among many examples, the study discusses Multiplans, Inc., a modest DC business which offers international wire transfer service, founded by Salvadorean immigrants Pedro Delgado and his daughter Ana María Delgado. Or stories of Asian tailors who establish solid businesses. Or the story of Armando Chapelli, the owner and head of Washington Consulting Firm, who started out with a modest job in a fish processing plant and went on to construct an international consulting company that deals with aviation equipment.

Other aspects of the study discuss the intergroup conflicts which erupt over government preferences; problems between traveling street vendors and those that are well established, or between members of the same group. The study is brief, with a greater emphasis on personal histories (type reporting) and citing informative sources in order to illustrate the reality of immigrants in the Washington area, where they are a growing relevant factor, economically and politically.

Go to Part One of This Study...