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Report: 36,000 Essential Health Care Workers In San Diego Are Immigrants

People take the oath of allegiance to become U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony at the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2017.
Jae C. Hong AP
People take the oath of allegiance to become U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony at the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2017.
A new report from the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at UC San Diego says one-third of the city of San Diego's essential health, food and agricultural workers in the city of San Diego are foreign-born.

San Diego's immigrant community is playing a pivotal role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new report from the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at UC San Diego says one-third of the city's essential health, food and agricultural workers are foreign-born.

Some of the report's other findings include:

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• Approximately 36,000 essential health workers in the city of San Diego are foreign-born

• By 2030, the plurality of the foreign-born population in the city of San Diego will likely be from Asia

• One in four San Diegans is an immigrant

Tom Wong, director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at UC San Diego who authored the study, joined Midday Edition on Tuesday with more on what he learned from the data.