LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Discussions about immigrants were a hot-button topic throughout President Donald Trump’s campaign, with him promising to begin mass deportations as soon as he returned to office. This has raised concerns in immigrant communities across the U.S.
The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, along with the Immigration Research Initiative, recently came out with a report highlighting the impact immigrants have on the commonwealth. According to the report, nearly 180,000 immigrants live in Kentucky.
Nestled in the NuLu neighborhood is Story. It has office spaces, an open area for people to work and conference rooms. It’s a space to support entrepreneurs.
“All of this area is really just a flexible way to get people to come out and do work that is really important to them in very different ways,” said Natalia Bishop, founder and CEO of Story.
She is originally from Colombia and has now been in Louisville for more than 20 years.
“I came with my entire family,” Bishop said. “My mom, my sister, my grandmother, my brother. We all came straight to Louisville.”
Bishop started pursuing entrepreneurship about 14 years ago after having her first child.
“You make it all the way to America and you’re like, ‘I want the comfort of a paycheck and I want stability,’ and I had this realization after I had my son … how can I ask this child to be the best they can be if I’m not pursuing my own dreams?" Bishop said.
Many immigrants in Kentucky become entrepreneurs, with the KyPolicy’s report stating 13% of main street business owners in the state are immigrants. This includes restaurants, clothing stores and barber shops.
“We have a really robust and I think, diverse, set of folks here in the state who are contributing to our economy in significant ways," said Dustin Pugel, KyPolicy policy director. "What that adds up to is about $14 billion out of our GDP that are contributed by immigrants."
Beyond owning businesses, 5% of Kentucky workers are immigrants, with them making up 12% of construction laborers, 24% of software developers and 16% of physicians.
“In many ways, I think immigrants contribute to our communities," Pugel said. "So losing that means losing tax revenue, it means losing demand and it means losing neighbors that we care about and love."
Through her work, Bishop has made her own impact on Louisville and has seen other immigrants thrive in the city thanks to a welcoming environment.
“I think we have that vision of a Louisville that is robust and welcoming and continues to be this carved out home for many, many people,” Bishop said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from.”
In a separate report, KyPolicy also states that of the 51,000 undocumented migrants who live in Kentucky, they contribute more than $118 million in state and local taxes per year. It adds they pay an effective tax rate that’s higher than the wealthiest 1% of Kentucky residents.