Immigrants are essential to Wisconsin’s economy.
Some 320,000 immigrants call Wisconsin home, generating $23 billion in economic output each year. They are business owners, health care providers, educators, and skilled tradespeople, filling roles from software development to agriculture. Federal data shows that in 2023, immigrants made up 7 percent of the Wisconsin workforce, and according to Kids Forward, immigrants made up 11% of the state’s Main Street business owners, 16% of physicians, 9% of construction workers, and more than 60% of manicurists and pedicurists in 2022. Immigrant workers are essential to our dairy industry and make up 12% of the state’s agricultural workforce. In the tight labor markets, these workers sustain industries and services that keep Wisconsin thriving.
Despite considerable economic and cultural contributions, immigrants face persistent barriers to fully participating in the workforce and community life. The current administration’s anti-immigrant policies have increased fear and dampened new immigration, constricting the Wisconsin economy where labor markets are already tight. Though it is largely a federal issue, state policy also matters. In Wisconsin, limited access to driver’s licenses, tuition equity, and professional licensing, along with language barriers, restrict immigrants’ economic opportunity. These challenges for immigrant families limit the state’s ability to meet its workforce needs. (For more on these barriers, see Kids Forward’s 2025–27 State Budget analysis here.)
Policies that expand opportunity for immigrants will strengthen Wisconsin’s economy and communities. Restoring driver’s licenses for all, ensuring tuition equity, increasing language access, and enabling DACA recipients to obtain professional licenses are concrete state policy steps that would support immigrants. These policies would also boost state revenue, increase the growth of industries and promote safer, more inclusive communities. (More detailed recommendations can be found in Kids Forward’s report, Immigrants Are a Vital Part of Wisconsin’s Future, here.)
