State and Local Initiatives

State and Local Initiatives

They say all politics is local, right? While most of the debate about immigration focuses on congressional action (or inaction), local communities across the country are the ones who feel the value of immigration most tangibly. Now active in more than 50 communities – more than 80 percent of which are in conservative states – the NAE State & Local team works with policymakers, business, and civic leaders to promote policies and programs that help create jobs and drive economic growth. You can explore more of our work on the state and local level here.

NBC News: How an Oklahoma city is using data to make immigrants feel at home

NBC News: How an Oklahoma city is using data to make immigrants feel at home

A new program under way in Tulsa aims to support immigrants and make the transition to living in the United States easier. The New Tulsans Initiative is a project designed to learn best ways to welcome and integrate immigrants through local government and nonprofit programs. The Oklahoma city… Read More

After Fleeing Pinochet, Family Endures the Long Wait of U.S. Policy

After Fleeing Pinochet, Family Endures the Long Wait of U.S. Policy

Though born in Connecticut, successful entrepreneur and videographer Max Moraga has experienced xenophobia and the consequences of U.S. immigration policy firsthand. As a child, the first-generation Chilean-American was targeted for his Hispanic heritage. He was walking past the supermarket in his largely white, rural Connecticut town one day, when a… Read More

The Detroit News: Column: Immigrants are key to reviving working class

The Detroit News: Column: Immigrants are key to reviving working class

Compelling new research documents how immigrants are undeniably part of the solution to start reversing the job loss and wage stagnation impacting Michigan’s working-class. Released by the New American Economy, a coalition of mayors and corporate CEOs led by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the Great… Read More

The Son of an Undocumented Immigrant Is Keeping Your Data Safe

The Son of an Undocumented Immigrant Is Keeping Your Data Safe

Millions of people and thousands of corporations who use cloud storage and software powered by Dell don’t know it, but the son of an undocumented immigrant is keeping their data safe. His name is Carlos Phoenix, and he’s the global cyber strategist for a Dell subsidiary called VMware. “Our software powers a… Read More

Immigrants Want the Opportunity to Work for Their Families, Texas Judge Says

Immigrants Want the Opportunity to Work for Their Families, Texas Judge Says

Armando Rodriguez, a Mexican-American from Houston’s rough-and-tumble Fifth Ward, has had a career marked by many firsts. He was the first person in his family to become a lawyer — though all of his siblings graduated from college. And after being elected in 1974 as a justice of the peace… Read More

GTR Newspapers: Gateways to Growth to Promote Immigrant Integration

GTR Newspapers: Gateways to Growth to Promote Immigrant Integration

As your Mayor, I recognize that Tulsa’s greatest assets are our people. For the past few decades, a growing number of people from different countries are choosing to call Tulsa their home. Trends show that immigrants have been a key part of Tulsa’s economic and social growth. As Tulsa becomes… Read More

Immigrants Helped Create Nearly a Quarter-Million Jobs in Great Lakes Region between 2010 and 2015, New Report Finds

Immigrants Helped Create Nearly a Quarter-Million Jobs in Great Lakes Region between 2010 and 2015, New Report Finds

SYRACUSE, New York — An increase in immigrant populations in the Great Lakes region has led to a rebound in the manufacturing industry, a boom in the healthcare sector, and the creation of nearly 250,000 working-class jobs, a new report from New American Economy and the Great Lakes Metro Chambers Coalition… Read More

New Americans and a New Direction: The Role of Immigrants in Reviving the Great Lakes Region

New Americans and a New Direction: The Role of Immigrants in Reviving the Great Lakes Region

An increase in immigrant populations in the Great Lakes region has led to a rebound in the manufacturing industry, a boom in the healthcare sector, and the creation of nearly 250,000 working-class jobs, a new report from New American Economy and the Great Lakes Metro Chambers Coalition finds. This is… Read More

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Dreaming of a greater St. Louis

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Dreaming of a greater St. Louis

The mission of the St. Louis Regional Chamber is to “inspire a greater St. Louis.” That means making the metro area even more attractive to a workforce that can help local businesses create jobs and grow the economy. The area’s burgeoning immigrant and refugee community — hailing from Bosnia, Mexico,… Read More

High Country News: Letter: Take a job, create another

High Country News: Letter: Take a job, create another

An immigration attorney I know shared a document with me recently: an appeal sent to the U.S. Department of Justice Board of Immigration, the government office that interprets and applies immigration laws. The document told the story of how in the summer of 2014, at the height of the humanitarian crisis… Read More

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