Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Immigrant Entrepreneurs Bring Vitality to Main Street, Help Local Economies Grow
Midtown Global Market, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a place where vendors hawk fresh produce, baked goods, coffee and espressos, and arts and jewelry. And as its more than 40 different businesses represent people from five continents, the market is one example of how a city can cultivate the… Read More
How Immigration Executive Action Opens Doors for Foreign Entrepreneurs
Much of the attention on President Obama’s executive action on immigration has focused on his use of prosecutorial discretion to defer deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants, including certain parents of U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents. But as part of the November announcement, President Obama also signed a… Read More
Cities and Regions Explore Ways to Maximize Migration’s Local Dividends
Local officials are recognizing that immigration can play a role in their broader growth and development strategies. As Demetrios Papademetriou of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) explains, immigration can be an economic windfall for their communities through more jobs and growth. But these benefits are not automatic… Read More
City Leaders Discuss Welcoming Immigrants at Global Great Lakes Convening
Gabriel Berumen, originally from Mexico, knows the value of immigrant-owned small businesses for local communities. He started Las Palmas, a Latino grocery store chain, in the Pittsburgh area. Now, Las Palmas has expanded to suburban communities around Pittsburgh. Berumen’s chain of grocery stores is an example of how… Read More
Entrepreneurs Reaffirm Need for Immigration Reform
From Alexander Graham Bell to Google’s Sergey Brin, immigrants have founded some of the most iconic American companies, as the Kauffman Foundation’s Dane Stangler explained. “There’s something inherently entrepreneurial about leaving your home to start a new life in another country,” Stangler said. And immigrant entrepreneurs continue… Read More
How Immigration is Key to New York City’s Renaissance
As a gateway to the United States, New York City has long been defined by the generations of immigrants who have made it their home. In a city of 8.3 million people, more than 3.1 million—38 percent of New York City’s population—are foreign-born, according to the 2012 American Community… Read More
Majority of U.S. Patents Granted to Foreign Individuals
The contributions of immigrants are visible in communities and industries across the nation, and as a recent article highlights, immigrants’ economic and innovative additions can be seen in the form of patent grants. More than half of all 302,948… Read More
High-Tech Immigrant Entrepreneurs are Crucial to Local Economies
Recently, a growing number of cities and states have begun pursuing strategies that attract and welcome immigrants and immigrant entrepreneurs in order to grow their economies. Encouraging immigrant high-tech entrepreneurship, and addressing the factors that cultivate an environment in which entrepreneurs may be more successful, is yet… Read More
Mayors Agree, Immigrants Make Their Cities More Economically Competitive
“Mayors are looking for a fix,” said Mayor Scott Smith of Mesa Arizona, President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “The status quo is not acceptable. It's as simple as that.” In a January 31 letter to Members of Congress, the United States Conference of Mayors urged expeditious action on immigration reform in 2014. As the letter stated: “Fixing our nation’s broken immigration laws is among the most important issues of interest to America’s mayors currently before the U.S. House of Representatives. We believe strongly that maintaining the status quo will further damage the economic, political and social structure of our cities and our country. As Mayors, we have a ground-level understanding of the pressing economic and moral imperatives that necessitate changing our national immigration system, and we urge the House to expeditiously bring legislation to the floor.” Read More
Report: Three-Quarters of Republican Business Leaders Back Immigration Reform
Whether as high-tech contributors within a large company or as the founders of their own businesses, immigrants play a critical role in entrepreneurship and innovation. Take the selection of Satya Nadella, an immigrant from India, as Microsoft’s new CEO. He originally came to the U.S. as… Read More
