Dallas County leaders vowed to continue supporting and honoring immigrant communities, especially during crisis, commissioners said Tuesday..
Commissioner Elba Garcia said they should be welcomed, not mistreated.
"As an immigrant, I think this resolution today is more important than any," she said. "Why? We're living through very tumultuous times and I hate to see the way immigrants — which we all are immigrants into this country — are treated nowadays."
Commissioners agreed to make this June National Immigrant Heritage Month.
Nationally, undocumented immigrants paid about $97 billion dollars in federal, state and local taxes in 2022, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
Locally, 40 percent of immigrants are business owners who collectively make more than $1 billion a year, Garcia read aloud.
"It's not only Latinos," Garcia said. "It's people from all over the world. Asia, Europe. You mention it, they're here. Caribbean, Central, South America. And the reality is it's always been like that.”
Of roughly 300,000 undocumented people countywide, one third are homeowners who help contribute about $5 billion in state and local taxes, according to the institute's study.
"More than ever, I really appreciate your work and your courage for being here," she told Dallas Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs Division staff.
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