Virginia Is a Multicultural Success Story

The alt-right and neo-Nazi protesters seem to have chosen Charlottesville, Virginia, as a gathering point this past weekend because of the controversy over the town’s Confederate statues and memorials. Whether they knew it or not, there is another reason the state is important: If Virginia can be shown to look like a hotbed of conflict and prejudicial discontent, the message will be that nowhere in America is safe. Virginia is where the U.S.’s recent experience with immigration arguably is most successful.

One way to measure the success of an integrated community is how quickly and deeply the newcomers become involved in the economy. Virginia has the highest labor force participation rate for immigrants of any state, at 73 percent, above that of U.S.-born Virginians. From the 10 states with the most immigrants, Virginia has the highest share with a bachelor’s degree or higher. If you’re wondering, the state’s overall unemployment rate is 3.8 percent, below the national average, so it doesn’t seem immigrants are taking jobs away from natives.