Nearly half a million working-age Massachusetts residents lack English proficiency: report

Over 450,000 Massachusetts residents have limited English-language proficiency, a new report finds.

The Boston Herald reported that the situation represents “another challenge for an economy that continues to lose many taxpayers to other states with lower taxes and cost of living.”

The report, released by MassInc and UMass Donahue on Wednesday, found that an estimated 480,000 residents have limited English proficiency (LEP). This makes up approximately 10% of the state’s workforce.

The data could be an undercount, considering that it stems from 2022 Census estimates.

The report urges state officials to accommodate the growing number of immigrants that could “contribute at their full potential to the commonwealth’s social and economic vitality.”

Furthermore, the report states that if state officials were to boost LEP skills by one level of proficiency, it could generate $3 billion in additional annual earnings to local economies.

Therefore, due to the influx of migrants, it warrants an urgent need to expand access to “English for Speakers of other Languages” (ESOL) services.

Per the report, “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 report comes after Gov. Maura Healey announced on Tuesday new restrictions that Massachusetts families must be prioritized for services.

The restrictions come amid a growing influx of migrants that is burdening 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,” Gov. Healey said in a statement.

Healey announced last month that she had sent members of her administration to the Texas border, citing “record” numbers of migrants coming to Boston. 

Officials will make connections with federal agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and migrant families “to educate them about the lack of shelter availability in Massachusetts.”

Many Democratic-run states and cities have struggled to cope with the numbers of migrants they are seeing. Multiple mayors have urged the Biden administration to give them more federal funding, as well as expedited work permits to help migrants get jobs more quickly and be less reliant on social services.