January’s immigration raids across several Maine cities — which prompted thousands of workers and their children to stay home out of fear for their safety — also took a significant toll on the local economy, according to a report by the Maine Center for Economic Policy.
The report estimates that “Operation Catch of the Day,” which made more than 200 arrests between Jan. 20 and Jan. 29, reduced taxable retail sales by around $3.4 million during the 10-day period in the areas most directly affected by the raids. Besides Greater Portland, which includes Lewiston-Auburn as well as Biddeford and Saco.
The number represents a 2% sales drop in those communities, in which more than 2,300 employees on average stayed home from work and 1,000-plus children were absent from school.
In the report, based on data from public school districts in the areas targeted by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, analyst James Myall underscores immigrants’ contributions to the economy while taking aim at the administration’s policies.
“Immigration is a net benefit to the economy over the long term,” he writes in the report.
MECEP said its findings are consistent with a study by the Greater Portland Council of Governments that shows the raids disrupted operations at more than two-thirds of surveyed businesses. More than half of the respondents said their revenue was down more than 5% and one out of three had missing staff.
The nonpartisan Augusta-based research and policy organization focuses on efforts to raise the living standards of Mainers with low and moderate incomes.
