Over 450,000 Massachusetts residents have limited English-language proficiency (LEP), according to a new report by MassInc and UMass Donahue. The study, released on Wednesday, estimates that 480,000 residents—around 10% of the state’s workforce—struggle with English. Based on 2022 Census data, the figure could well be an undercount.
As the number of immigrants rises, the study calls on state authorities to make accommodations so that they can “contribute at their full potential to the commonwealth’s social and economic vitality.” The paper also claims that local economies might gain $3 billion in additional yearly revenue if state officials were to raise LEP proficiency levels by just one level.
“Nearly two decades later, additional investment to increase access to ESOL is more critical than ever. For, while Massachusetts has developed many creative models to deliver these services, state and federal ESOL spending has not kept pace with the growth of our foreign-born population,” the document reads.
Governor Maura Healey recently announced new restrictions prioritizing Massachusetts families for state services amid a surge in migrant arrivals that has placed a heavy burden on the state’s homeless shelter system. “Our administration has taken significant action over the past year to make the system more sustainable and help families leave shelter for stable housing. But with Congress continuing to fail to act on immigration reform, we need to make more changes,” Healey asserted.
This issue isn’t exclusive to Massachusetts. The enormous influx of migrants is posing comparable challenges to Democratic-run states and localities around the country, whose leaders have been pleading with the Biden administration for faster work permits and greater government support in order to assist immigrants in becoming self-sufficient as soon as possible.
