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
An Immigrant Helps Entrepreneurs, They Help the Economy
For Karla Boldery, a Mexican immigrant and business coach, how to make business development easier for immigrants is the million-dollar question. How to improve immigration reform, she says, is “the twenty-million-dollar question.” For the past seven years, Boldery has worked in innovation and technology business development. She received a… Read More
University Advisor Fears Effect on U.S. Students as Foreign Applications Drop
Alpona Stamboldjiev, an Indian native who advises engineering students at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, fears that some of the school’s most promising graduates won’t invest their skills in the United States economy. “We have a very large population of international students, especially in engineering,” she says. “Now, because of the… Read More
‘We’re Working, Staying out of Trouble,’ Says DACA Recipient
When Radi finished high school, she longed to go to college. But as an undocumented immigrant, she didn’t have the same opportunities as her friends, and for years she waited tables at a local restaurant. Things finally changed with the implementation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a 2012… Read More
An Indian in Kansas Brings Hundreds of Jobs and Free Healthcare
Abdul Arif grew up in a middle-class family in Hyderabad, India, and came to Wichita, Kansas, at 17 to join his brother, who was a naturalized citizen. He’d hoped to get an education in America, but things didn’t go as planned: Arif dropped out of high school, got married, and… Read More
Politicians, Not People, Divide Us, Says Lebanese-American Dentist
When Omar Mahmassani arrived in the United States from Lebanon to begin studying dentistry at Georgetown University, he felt positively awed. “I felt so lucky,” he says of that day in 1984. “A degree from the United States is the gold standard. People look up to the United States as… Read More
Louisiana Lawyer: For Sake of Economy, ‘Make Immigration Viable Again’
When Baton Rouge was devastated by flooding in 2016, it was immigrants who came to the rescue. “There was no way that Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas could rebuild without immigrant labor, whether documented or undocumented,” says Paul “Woody” Scott, a Honduran-American immigration lawyer who has worked in the… Read More
Louisianan Says it’s the Strangers Who Make His Town Home
Chris Wade cares about the people of Monroe, Louisiana. He was born there, raised there, and received a bachelor’s degree in psychology there, from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He’s also spent a significant portion of his adult life volunteering in and around the city: driving a truck for… Read More
Ancient Indian Tradition Sparks 21st Century Business
When Sudha Krishnasamy was growing up in India, family meals were served on dried leaves. They were inexpensive, disposable, and completely biodegradable. After arriving in the United States, Krishnasamy was bothered by the frequent use of paper and Styrofoam plates; it felt wasteful to use something once, toss it in… Read More
Rwandan’s Successful Kids Are America’s Gain
For Rwandan native Judith Mukaruziga, home is a central part of life. As a real estate agent in State College, Pennsylvania, Mukaruziga takes great satisfaction in helping clients find just the right house. But her greatest sense of meaning comes from building a loving, stable home with her husband and… Read More
Hard Work and Good Salsa Make for a Thriving Louisiana Business
You won’t see any paid advertisements for Ki’ Mexico, a laid-back cantina that serves authentic Mexican food and margaritas in Shreveport, Louisiana. But the two-year-old restaurant has near-perfect ratings on Facebook, Yelp, and TripAdvisor, and regularly attracts crowds so large that co-owner Rodrigo Mondragon had to purchase a business next… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
