Center for International Human Rights Law and Advocacy Produces Report on Economic Contributions of Immigrants in Teton County

In the fall of 2016, University of Wyoming College of Law Professor Noah Novogrodsky initiated a study on the economic contributions of immigrant workers within Teton County. The project was part of the outreach efforts of the College of Law’s Center for International Human Rights Law and Advocacy (CIHRLA) at the University of Wyoming. The intent of the study was to uncover details that are otherwise lost in census data, in order to encourage evidence-based debate and policy on immigration issues in Wyoming.

CIHRLA collaborated with New American Economy (NAE), a non-profit organization that advocates for policies that increase opportunities for immigrants to contribute to the U.S. economy and to U.S communities, to produce the report. They compiled publicly available data from the U.S. Census and American Community Survey along with interviews with local stakeholders, to quantitative and qualitatively measure the contributions of immigrants within Teton County. The report aims to bring to the forefront the extent in which immigrants are supporting the economy, and offers recommendations to enhance social and economic contributions by immigrants, and to improve the public perception of immigrants within the community.

Some of the suggestions focus on establishing more accessible pathways to education in Wyoming for immigrants, providing better access to legal aid resources, encouraging bilingual services within the community, and improving access to affordable housing for immigrants.

The full document can be found on the UW College of Law website under the Center for International Human Rights Law and Advocacy page.