A remarkable new poll was released in July by Gallup, showing that 79 percent of Americans believe immigration is a good thing for the country. This represents a sharp reversal of a four-year trend that had shown rising concern about immigration and a decline in support for immigration, which began in 2021.
Why the sudden change?
Likely because people all over the country and in South Carolina are recoiling at seeing the impacts of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, people in communities across the country — and here in South Carolina — are watching neighbors, co-workers and classmates live in fear, and they’re saying “enough.” Yet our South Carolina political and business leaders remain silent and behind the times. They need not be.
The truth is, our state needs immigrants more than ever. Immigrants make up about 5 percent of South Carolina’s population, but their economic impact is far greater. They contribute more than $7 billion annually to the state economy. Nearly 20 percent of agricultural workers in South Carolina are foreign-born. In 2018 alone, immigrant households in South Carolina paid over $1.9 billion in taxes — $1.3 billion federal, $600 million state and local. They support local businesses and communities in every corner of the state. And the health care sector is no different: immigrants make up 36 percent of home health aides nationwide, and a growing share of nurses and doctors in underserved rural counties in our state.
The entrepreneurial contributions are just as vital. Over 23,000 immigrants own businesses in South Carolina, employing tens of thousands and revitalizing Main Streets from Greenville to Goose Creek. Nationally, immigrants are nearly twice as likely to start businesses as native-born Americans. That innovation and risk-taking spirit is fueling our economic engine — and we need more of it.
Yet as ICE raids ramp up, particularly in our state, businesses are experiencing the painful consequences of an immigration system out of sync with economic demand. And instead of embracing this reality, too many South Carolina leaders continue to pass off anti-immigrant rhetoric as policy. They drive around with ICE taking part in photo-op raids instead of working in Washington or Columbia on real solutions. They push for punitive laws that make life harder for immigrant families instead of crafting pragmatic solutions that support legal pathways and streamline workforce access.
This is performative showmanship at its worst, all while businesses suffer and families live in fear. We don’t need more cable news clips. We need courage, competence and compassion. In other words, we need outcomes over optics.
Other states are waking up. Utah, a conservative state with a strong pro-business culture, has openly embraced immigrants as vital to its future by issuing formal statements affirming the value of immigrants and creating an office of New Americans. North Carolina is investing in programs to help immigrant workers upskill and integrate more fully into the economy. Georgia is working on workforce certification models that recognize international credentials. Other conservative-leaning states have recognized the stakes, but South Carolina, by contrast, is being left behind.
As the 2026 election campaigns heat up, political and business leaders should be mindful of the shifting views on immigration. Instead of returning to the same old tired tropes involving immigrants, state and business leaders should come up with comprehensive state policies that do more than just punish or exclude. We need initiatives to support immigrant entrepreneurs, to provide language and workforce training and to create public-private partnerships that help integrate immigrants into growing sectors. At the federal level, our congressional delegation must advocate for federal immigration reform that aligns with the country’s economic needs. Temporary work visas, streamlined legal pathways and protections for long-standing undocumented residents are not radical — they’re necessary.
As President Ronald Reagan once said, “Our nation is a nation of immigrants. More than any other country, our strength comes from our own immigrant heritage and our capacity to welcome those from other lands.” Let’s remember that our future depends on keeping that strength — not shutting our doors to those who dare to dream just as we do.
Christopher Richardson is a Charleston immigration attorney and former U.S. diplomat.