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
When Undocumented Immigrants Are Targeted, American Consumers Lose, Says Chamber Executive
Francisco Treviño, President and CEO of the Greater Tulsa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, remembers what happened in 2007 when the Oklahoma state legislature passed one of the country’s most punitive immigration laws. Called the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act, the law went so far as to target U.S. citizens,… Read More
Child of Mexican Restaurant Owners Helps Build Houston’s Next Generation of Business Leaders
In 2007, when Laura Murillo became president and CEO of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the organization had just two employees and was in financial peril, about to lose its lease. Under her guidance, it is now the largest Hispanic chamber of commerce in the country, with 4,200 members,… Read More
Texas Immigration Attorney Sees Firsthand How Immigration Policy Stifles North Texas Economy
Ann Massey Badmus has spent over 22 years working in immigration law. Her greatest takeaway from over two decades of experience? The national conversation surrounding immigration does not represent what she sees every single day. “We keep hearing more and more rhetoric that immigration is bad,” Badmus says. “Why are… Read More
Successful Tech CEO Wants to Hire American Workers, but U.S. Immigration Won’t Let Him Stay in the Country
Peteris Krumins has been fascinated by computers for as long as he can remember. “As a child, I would spend literally all my time tinkering with hardware and software,” he says. By the time he was 15, he’d already been hired as a professional computer programmer in his native Latvia. Read More
Immigration Policy Nearly Drives Entrepreneur’s $20 Million Company From America
Brian Wong is redefining mobile advertising. The Canadian co-founder and CEO of Kiip — a company that offers rewards to players who reach new levels on mobile games or apps — has raised more than $20 million in venture capital and counts Coke, Kellogg’s, and Unilever among his customers. And… Read More
Bank CEO’s Immigration Story Has Shaped His Success Here in America
Suku Radia, CEO of Bankers Trust,has made diversity and inclusion integral to the ethos of the company he leads. Nineteen percent of his workforce is non-white, and his team speaks roughly 30 different languages. They are also highly enterprising and have grown Bankers Trust into Iowa’s largest bank. Radia literally… Read More
Tanzanian-Born Entrepreneur: Immigrants Aren’t Just “Giving Back to the Country, We Are Very Much a Part of the Country”
Abbas Bandali and his younger brother lived nearly parallel lives: They were both born and raised in Tanzania and attended school in England. But afterwards, Bandali’s younger brother returned to Tanzania, and Bandali ventured into an unknown future in America. “I can very easily compare and contrast my life and… Read More
America Needs Immigrant Scientists To Retain Its Competitive Edge: ‘Our Growth Is Constrained,’ Says Ohio Businessman
Dr. Ayman Salem is a metals engineer, though you won’t see him in a welding mask, standing amid flying sparks. His domain is the laboratory, where he examines nickel, titanium and steel alloys at the atomic level. “If we can understand how these metals are built, we can predict how… Read More
Immigration Reform Is ‘Fundamental to My Company,’ Says Finance Firm CEO
In 2013, Manu Smadja received an email from a desperate junior at his alma mater, the University of Virginia. The mechanical engineering major was $500 short on rent and about to get evicted, which would force him to drop out. In a last-ditch effort, he emailed Smadja asking… Read More
Immigration System Stands Between Doctor and Co-Founder of Revolutionary Health Technology and His Company
Platelets, the smallest of our blood cells, are critical to our survival. Key to wound healing, they stop us from bleeding out when we get a cut and are used in medical procedures ranging from surgery to cancer treatment. “Platelets are the Band-Aids of the bloodstream,” explains Argentine native Dr. Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
