Business and the Workforce
Immigrants not only bring diverse skills and perspectives to the U.S. workforce, they often fill employment gaps in crucial fields. We advocate for expanded work visas and related programs so our labor force can continue to benefit from immigrant workers and remain competitive in the global economy
Immigration Policy Ineffective for Economic Development, Says Iowa CEO
As CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, an economic development organization, Jay Byers is trying to make the region a premier destination for immigrant workers, particularly in job-growth industries like bioscience and advanced manufacturing. “Recruiting international talent, especially in high-skilled industries, is absolutely critical to fueling future economic growth,”… Read More
Business Owner: Immigrants Boost the Economy, Revitalize Alabama Town
Robert Hester has owned Hester Printing & Graphics, Inc. in Russellville since 1976. For much of that time, he’s relied on Hispanic immigrants and first-generation customers. “Their business has really helped me,” says Hester. “The invitations for quinceañeras and weddings and things like that are really big. Other people here… Read More
One Refugee Couple, Dozens of Entrepreneurial Stories
Nadia Kasvin came to the United States under the terms of the Lautenberg Amendment, a 1989 policy that allowed Jews and other religious minorities facing persecution in the former Soviet Union to seek asylum in America. Three years after applying, and after numerous background checks and interviews, Kasvin and her… Read More
May Day 2017: Why immigrant labor is more important now than ever
On Monday, tens of thousands were expected to walk out of their jobs and take to the streets for a national Day Without Immigrants strike. The strike was predicted by organizers to be the largest single-day labor strike in over a decade. The message of Monday’s protest was… Read More
Chamber Executive: It’s Amazing What Immigrants Can Accomplish
Wilma Cartagena grew up in Puerto Rico and moved to Washington state when she was 22 years old, still struggling to learn English. “People always tell me I have an accent, and they can be so dismissive,” says Cartagena, who went on to earn a degree from the University of… Read More
Americans Forget They Descend From Immigrants, Says Minnesotan
Aaron J. Brown, a community college instructor and proud native of Hibbing, Minnesota, says some on the Mesabi Iron Range seem to have forgotten that they are the descendants of immigrants. A century ago, Hibbing was as diverse as New York City is today. “Many great-great-grandparents of Hibbing residents came… Read More
Immigrant Talent Critical To U.S. Dominance, Says Economist
Peter Orazem is an economist and professor at Iowa State University, where he’s taught for 34 years. Orazem’s career has given him insight into how much the United States relies on both high- and low-skilled immigrants to move our economy forward. “We have a country that’s capital rich and labor… Read More
Troy Professor: Make It Easier For High-Skilled Workers And Entrepreneurs to Immigrate
Maryam Stevenson has dedicated her professional career to studying how high-skilled immigrants help the American economy. As an immigration attorney in Memphis in the mid-aughts, she specialized in skilled worker visas for the healthcare industry. Today, as an assistant professor of political science at Troy University in Troy, Alabama, she… Read More
A Meatpacker’s Son Now Helps Other Nebraska Youth Succeed
Growing up in Lexington, Nebraska, in the 1990s, Luis Sotelo witnessed a cultural transition when Latin American workers arrived to fill a demand for labor in a new meatpacking plant. “And today we are seeing a new wave of immigrants in Lexington,” says Sotelo, who serves as chief diversity officer… Read More
Trump’s Latest Executive Order Targets High-Skilled Immigrants
On April 18, President Trump signed the presidential executive order on Buy American and Hire American. Similar to the other immigration-related executive orders, this one has no immediate effect. The executive order does not change the existing requirements for any visa category or the processes for approving a petition… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
