New York State Senator Malcolm Smith (D-WF), one of the most influential elected officials in Albany, the capital of the Empire State, has a good reason to make that important call. As the son of Caribbean immigrant parents, the president pro tempore of the upper chamber, and the first Black person to hold that job, he knows how much people who were born outside of the United States have contributed to the prosperity of this "great nation."

So, when the Fiscal Policy Institute used Census data to reach some key conclusions about the role of immigrants in the country, Smith and others across the state, indeed the country, welcomed the news, but were quick to add: We knew it all along.

In a nationwide study of the 25 largest metropolitan areas that account for half of the country's gross domestic product, the Institute concluded that immigration to the United States was "broad and diverse, bringing clear overall benefits to the economy."

As the Institute pointed out, the data analyzed in its extensive report that covered such cities as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Houston, Miami, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Detroit, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Portland, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Baltimore, Denver, Phoenix and others in between, "demonstrates that immigration and economic growth in the metropolitan areas are strongly and positively associated with one another."

Stated simply, immigration is good for the country. As a matter of fact, it has always been that way. Hence State Senator Smith's appeal.

Figures speak for themselves. A few examples:

• In the New York metropolitan area--which consists of parts of New York (including Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Long Island, Staten Island, Westchester, and White Plains) and northern New Jersey (including Bergen County and Morris County)--28 percent of 18.7 million residents, roughly 5.2 million, were foreign born. They account for 28 percent of the economic activity.

• Los Angeles, with a population of almost 13 million, immigrants account for 35 percent or 4.4 million and 34 percent of the economy.

• Chicago, 1.6 million of the City's people, 18 percent were immigrants and their share of economic activity amounted to exactly 18 percent.

• In Miami, where 37 percent of the people living or working there were foreign-born, their contribution to the area's economy was 38 percent.

• San Francisco, a city where immigrants comprise 30 percent of the 4.1 million, that's a share of 1.2 million; they contribute 29 percent to the gross domestic product.

In almost every case, the figures of economic activity matched the size of immigrant population. In such places as Detroit, Cincinnati and Baltimore, the contribution was slightly higher. In a few cities, the numbers showed a smaller contribution than the size of the immigrant population, nothing to worry about.

What, then, can be said about this bit of invaluable research?

Several things come quickly to mind.

At the top of the list is that immigration is a spur to economic activity but certainly not a drag on it.

Next is the impact of immigrants on the labor market. "In many instances immigrants are complementary to U.S.-born workers rather than being in direct competition with them," stated the Institute.

Then, there is the issue of how well are they doing? The foreign born are faring "reasonably well" in managerial and professional jobs. When it comes to earnings, there isn't a large disparity between the native-born and foreigners. That's important because of the often sweeping generalization that immigrants depress wages and conditions of service. That's the good news.

The bad news comes in the service jobs where all workers, both native and foreign "have a hard time making ends meet." The problem is more acute when efforts are being made to set standards for higher pay for everyone.

Immigrants get the shaft, if you will, when blue collar jobs were studied. The foreign workers "have consistently low earnings." That's why the key challenge is to raise the pay for everybody.

These findings are vital because the Barack Obama Administration is preparing an extensive overhaul of the immigration system and the danger is that the White House may place too much emphasis on enforcement and deportation than on improving the lives of people already in the country.

Yes, there is a clear need for a pathway to citizenship. But it is counter-productive to deport people who have established secure lives in the land of their adoption.

The Fiscal Policy Institute's study has provided us with valuable ammunition for those in the battle against closing the borders and deporting 12 million undocumented immigrants.