International Students
Although they account for just five percent of all students in U.S. colleges and universities, international students play an important role in our economy. They gravitate towards the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, producing a large number of patents and gaining skills that help our employers innovate and compete. They spend tens of billions of dollars as consumers, supporting local businesses. And the companies they go on to found—such as Google, Yahoo!, and Trulia—employ hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans.
Pakistani Engineer Manages 700-Employee Facility, Oversees Life-Saving Drug Production
Usman Chaudhri dreamed of becoming an engineer, and by 23, he had more than achieved his goal. He had received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Pakistan’s National University of Sciences and Technology and had his research on synthetic engine fuel published in journals around the world. Riding… Read More
Grecia Chavira, guest columnist: Living in limbo in the land of the free
In my junior year at University High School, I considered dropping my plans to attend college, even though I was ranked at the top of my class. As an undocumented immigrant — my family came here from Mexico when I was age 8 — I realized that even if I… Read More
Without DACA, U.S. Risks Losing Country’s Educated Talent
When Ben A. was a high-school senior in north Texas, he was class valedictorian, president of the school’s National Honor Society chapter, and had a full scholarship to Harvard University. But his girlfriend’s father still disapproved of their relationship because he was an undocumented immigrant. “It’s one of the most… Read More
New Data: Tennessee In-State Tuition Bill Would Raise Spending Power Statewide by $19 Million, Add $5.5 Million to State and Federal Tax Revenue
NASHVILLE, TN – As Senate Bill 2263 is considered by the Tennessee Senate Education Committee tomorrow, New American Economy (NAE) has released new research highlighting the economic benefits Tennessee would see if the state allows undocumented high school graduates to qualify for in-state tuition. The bill… Read More
Texas Social Worker Sees Valuable Talent Stifled Without DACA
As a social worker, Bere Hernandez helps people in her community reach their full potential. As an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, she knows how many obstacles the foreign-born can encounter. “Immigrants are often seen as individuals who need to be rescued,” says Hernandez, who received her master’s degree in social… Read More
U.S. Could Deport the STEM Grads it Desperately Needs
American companies need young people like Cesar Guzman, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Texas at El Paso. U.S. employers are already struggling to find qualified workers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields; in 2016, there were more than 12 STEM jobs posted… Read More
On News of DACA’s End, College Dreamer Turns College Drop-Out
In September 2017, Cristian Olivares was ready to start his freshman year of college. He had registered for business classes and signed a lease for an apartment. Then he learned that the Trump administration was ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA), the 2012 policy that temporarily defers deportation and… Read More
Dreamer Pays Into America, Asks Only for Opportunity to Continue
Elvis Saldias knew when he was 9 years old and his mother brought him to the United States from Bolivia that he was from then on classified an undocumented immigrant. “As a kid, it always weighed on me. I was paranoid and afraid of the police,” he says. “It definitely… Read More
Ohio Student Eyes College, Still Worries About Younger Dreamers
For most of her childhood, Itzel Marquez had no idea she was an undocumented immigrant. Family members had brought her to the United States when she was just 3 years old. When she was 9, she says, “I started hearing about undocumented immigrants on the news, and I asked my… Read More
Dreamer Wants To Teach Kids, Instead Lives in Fear
In 2016, when Laura Perez was granted the right to legally work in the United States, she was finally able to come out of the shadows and,contribute more to her community and family. Perez is one of Utah’s more than 13,600 recipients of Deferred… Read More
Fueling the Economy
About 18.5 million foreign-born students study at American colleges and universities. In addition to their academic and cultural contributions, they support the economies of college communities through tuition payments and spending on housing, books, and other day-to-day expenses.1
Sources:
1 “NAFSA International Student Economic Value Tool | NAFSA,” accessed June 28, 2016. Available online.
Innovating for the Future
International STEM students and graduates are behind some of America’s most impressive innovations, from artificial skin to moldable metal. Studies show that immigrants with an advanced degree are three times more likely than U.S.-born graduate degree holders to file a patent.2 When universities increase their share of international students, they often receive more patents—boosting revenue and creating more opportunities for all students.
Sources:
2 Jennifer Hunt and Marjolaine Gauthier-Loiselle, “How Much Does Immigration Boost Innovation?,” NBER Working Paper, (September 2008). Available online.
3 Chellaraj, Gnanaraj, Keith E. Maskus, and Aaditya Mattoo. 2005. “The Contribution of Skilled Immigration and International Graduate Students to US Innovation.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper (3588). Retrieved November 10, 2014. Available online.
Share of Patents Awarded to Research Institutions with at Least One Foreign-Born Inventor, 2011
From Graduates to Entrepreneurs
The inventions of foreign-born students often do more than just earn patents. They spawn start-ups and new divisions of companies that create jobs for American workers. Foreign-born students at American schools founded companies like Sun Microsystems (now a part of Oracle), Google, and Yahoo!.
Sources:
4 Edward B. Roberts, Fiona Murray, and J. Daniel Kim, “Entrepreneurship and Innovation at MIT: Continuing Global Growth and Impact” (MIT Innovation Initiative, December 2015). Available online.
5 Vivek Wadhwa et al., “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Part I,” SSRN Scholarly Paper (Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network, 2007). Available online.
Boosting State Economies
In 2015, the large number of international students in both New York and California generated close to $4 billion in revenue for each state. In eight states, foreign-born students generated revenues in excess of $1 billion—supporting tens of thousands of jobs.
States where International Students Make the Largest Economic Impact
Educating the Next Generation
Foreign-born professionals play a large role in educating American students. In 22 states, the occupation “postsecondary teacher” ranks among the top 10 jobs in which immigrants make up the largest share of workers. In six of those states, that role ranks among the top three jobs most heavily reliant on immigrants.
States with the Highest Share of Immigrant Postsecondary Teachers, 2014
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
