Unless you’re a Native American, you or your ancestors came here from somewhere else, making most of us either immigrants or a product of immigrants.
Today, there are some 550,000 foreign-born people living here on Long Island, making up about a fifth of the population. And now, a new comprehensive study from the Immigration Research Initiative examines how immigrants impact the Island’s economy, highlighting their contributions, career choices, compensation and challenges, while exploring their importance in the growth and development of communities throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties.
The report, titled “Immigrants in the Long Island Economy: Overcoming Hurdles, Yet Still Facing Barriers,” offers a detailed vocational accounting of those who have come to this region from other nations. Here are some of its findings:
While immigrants on Long Island comprise 19 percent of the population, they make up 23 percent of the working-age population and labor force.
Sixty percent of full-time immigrant workers, both documented and undocumented, earn at least $48,000 per year, with 49 percent earning between $48,000 and $140,000 per year and 11 percent earning more than $140,000.
For those upper-wage occupations, immigrants on Long Island are highly concentrated in a few fields. Sixty percent of immigrants in upper-wage occupations work either in the computer field or in management and finance, and most are either software developers or CEOs.
Many immigrants in middle-wage occupations work as nurses, computer programmers, educators, architects, logistics specialists, and emergency services staff.
And though most immigrants on Long Island are in middle- or upper-wage jobs, they are also disproportionately likely to be in low-wage jobs, with 40 percent in jobs paying under $48,000, compared to 26 percent of U.S.-born workers. Out of those low-wage workers, 62 percent work in service or production jobs, such as building cleaners, cooks, meat processors, or sewing machine operators.
According to the report, the 65,000 undocumented immigrants who are estimated to be in the Long Island labor force are overwhelmingly in these low-wage occupations and the high cost of living on Long Island makes it hard to survive here on a salary of $48,000 or less. The Economic Policy Institute estimates the Long Island cost of living to be $53,000 for a one-person household, and $174,000 for a family of four, which is far higher than for the U.S. overall.
One of the report’s authors, David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of the nonprofit Immigration Research Initiative, said there’s so much misunderstanding of how immigrants are fitting into the economy, which was one of the reasons for the study.
“We really wanted to tell two stories that jump out of the research we did,” Kallick said. “First, the majority of immigrants are in middle- and upper-wage jobs and they’re doing pretty well. At the same time, they are disproportionately likely to be in low-wage jobs and really often struggling to make ends meet. It’s often hard for people to hold both of those thoughts in their head at the same time.”
Kallick said another impetus for the report, which utilized the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, is the public perception of immigration and the people who come here in hopes of a better life.
“Immigration has been such a controversial issue that we often miss the forest for the trees,” Kallick says. “Long Island has been a place where immigrants come and much of the time thrive and it’s also been good for the communities where they live. And sometimes that gets lost in the stuff we see in the news or the overly volatile politics around immigration.”
Immigrants who have thrived on Long Island have come from a variety of environments and circumstances, with many achieving successes in their chosen fields.
Sandra Lindsay, vice president of public health advocacy at Northwell Health, made global headlines in 2020 as the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials.
Little did she know, back in 1986 as an immigrant in New York arriving from Jamaica, that she would serve as a beacon of trust, inspiring countless others, including skeptics, to get vaccinated. Her efforts prompted President Joe Biden in 2022 to award her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given to a U.S. citizen.
But back in 1986, when Lindsay arrived with her family, she “longed to go back to Jamaica.”
“It was a big culture shock,” she said of her arrival. She missed the things “as simple as a greeting, people saying ‘Good morning,’ ‘good afternoon,’ and ‘good evening.’ It was as cold as the December day when I came here. I was homesick. I didn’t find it welcoming.”
Yet Lindsay had her sights on becoming a nurse, recognizing educational opportunities in New York. So she got to work, finding employment as a cashier at Met Foods in the Bronx and at a convenience store. She put in long days, earning less than $4 an hour. One day, while walking along Fordham Road, Lindsay spotted a sign promoting nursing assistance training. With her savings, she enrolled in the program.
From there, while always working full-time, she rose through academia, including two master’s degrees, and most recently a doctorate in health sciences with a concentration in global health and leadership and organization behavior from A.T. Still University. Along the way, she was tapped to pursue a leadership route, developing a passion for “helping people grow.”
All of this took grit, determination and focus – essential ingredients to making it in New York, especially as an immigrant.
But now newcomers to this country may find the climate even less welcoming than Lindsay did in 1986.
“We have to change the narrative of how we see immigrants,” Lindsay said. “We don’t come here to take away anything from the people that are here. We come here to work … to integrate with society, to contribute.”
A change in narrative about immigration would help people “really appreciate the power of diversity and bringing their unique selves to the country” in a culture where there is respect and opportunity, she said.
That kind of culture starts at the top, Lindsay said, adding that she finds it at Northwell, where its president and CEO, Michael Dowling, is also an immigrant “who worked his way up.”
“At Northwell we have that culture, and I go to work joyful every day.”
Harry Malhotra, who came to the U.S. from Mumbai, India in 1996, made stops in Westchester County and Queens before settling on Long Island in 2001.
“I was seeking the American dream of homeownership, a good paying job and greater opportunities for my family,” he said.
A businessman and real estate broker, Malhotra has always been involved in helping small business owners, especially those who are foreign-born. He serves as president of the New York South Asian Chamber of Commerce, executive director of the Town of Oyster Bay’s South Asian Advisory Board and administrative assistant to the Oyster Bay Town Board, where he assists residents with matters related to government and organize cultural celebrations that recognize diversity.
Malhotra was just recognized by Vision Long Island’s Smart Growth Awards, earning a Small Business Leadership award for helping small businesses survive the COVID-19 pandemic. He said language is often one of the biggest challenges for immigrants in business.
“If you work hard, you earn the opportunity to succeed in America,” Malhotra said. “Communication can always be a barrier; however, education helps smooth that transition.”
Malhotra said the contributions of immigrants are important to the Long Island economy.
“America is a nation built by immigrants and provides great economic opportunity and freedom to succeed in life and in small business,” he said. “As a new American, I worked in the private sector and then started my own business from scratch.”
Marco Silva, of counsel at Harris Beach, the law firm with offices in Uniondale, has a focus on commercial real estate. But he first arrived in the United States from Portugal at age 5. His parents had settled legally in this country when he was infant, expecting they could bring Marco right away. But because of red tape, he remained with his grandparents until he could join his parents, and by then a year-old baby brother in Williston Park, just in time for kindergarten.
His parents, whom he was getting to know for the first time, didn’t speak a word of English.
“There was no ESL,” he said. “I learned English by watching ‘Bugs Bunny.’”
His dad worked in a factory, and when Silva was about 9, he helped his dad at some of his other jobs, cleaning banks. Later, his mom worked at a factory. In addition to completing his American education, Silva attended Portuguese school, graduating there with the equivalence of seventh grade education. Silva, by the time he was in high school, worked in a deli, and later as a mechanic and in a window factory, all through high school, college and law school.
Silva credits the local Portuguese community members who were already established with helping his parents integrate. He noted that other immigrant communities have similar support systems.
It was Jack Martins, now a New York State senator and also a partner at Harris Beach, who encouraged Silva to attend law school. They knew each other in the community, and Martins, as an attorney, said he could use Silva’s assistance if he were to earn a law degree.
Silva went on to work with Martins in the New York Senate, authoring and collaborating on hundreds of bills, including more than 120 that were enacted into law by the New York State legislature. But prior to that, he and Martins worked in a small private practice, helping many in the Portuguese community in Mineola, Queens and Ossining. Clients included restaurant owners, mechanics and other entrepreneurs. That Silva can speak Portuguese, Spanish and English has gone a long way in helping clients.
“They are a lot more at ease communicating in their own language,” he said.
And while most of the immigrants on Long Island are earning decent salaries, the report from the Immigration Research Initiative found that immigrants making low wages are toiling in service and transportation jobs that help keep daily life functioning smoothly here every day. Immigrants make up 43 percent of all service workers, including 74 percent of maids, 57 percent of nursing assistants, and 64 percent of cab drivers.
“The simple truth is that immigrants are largely responsible for providing the labor that keeps our economy running,” said Anthony Capote, senior policy analyst for the Immigration Research Initiative and co-author of the report. “Without immigrants from all walks of life, Long Islanders would have a very hard time going out to eat, caring for their sick and aging loved ones, and keeping their homes clean. Long Islanders should be more focused on protecting these workers than trying to force them out of their communities.”
The report was funded by a grant from the Long Island Community Foundation, a division of the New York Community Trust. Sol Marie Jones, a senior program officer at LICF, said she was excited to see how local partners use the study to better inform Long Islanders about the role immigrants play in their communities.
“Our immigrant neighbors have always contributed greatly to Long Island’s rich culture, vibrant economy, and quality of life. The Long Island Community Foundation is proud to have supported this useful research,” Jones said. “We hope that the data will inform inclusive policies and practices so that all Long Islanders can reach their full potential and continue to strengthen our region.”
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Adina Genn
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