As the state and nation debate immigration reform, a Minnesota legislative auditor's report from a few years ago on the economic effects of immigration has findings that are relevant today.

The report did not address questions about the impact of undocumented immigrants, calling the existing data too sketchy to be useful. But it found that adverse wage effects, such as immigrants taking jobs away from U.S.-born workers, are offset by economic benefits, such as the more efficient use of labor, lower prices and increased economic activity. On the other hand, it also found that, while immigrants pay federal, state and local taxes, they use a variety of publicly funded services such as roads, schools and health care that may have mean more to local governments than the federal government.

It also found that, while immigrants compose a smaller proportion of the total population in Minnesota than the rest of the nation, Minnesota's immigrant population grew more rapidly. That remains true with the most current census figures. A recent study from the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, shows that the immigrant population changed in Minnesota by 49 percent between 2000 and 2011. Nationally, that increase was 29.8 percent. The largest share of the foreign-born population in Minnesota continues to be from Asia at 35.8 percent, while 52.6 percent nationally were from Latin America.

Adding to the mix, refugees, who often require greater publicly funded services than other immigrant groups, make up a larger share of the immigrant population in Minnesota than the nation as a whole.

In 2004, the number of refugees and people seeking asylum who came to Minnesota immediately upon entering the United States was about 50 percent of the state's total number of new immigrants. That was higher than any other state in the country. In 2005, non-U.S. citizens accounted for about $333 million in publicly funded health care payments in Minnesota and $87 million in public assistance payments.

Mark Brunswick • 612-673-4434