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.
Garage Owner Shows How Hard Immigrants Work
Oswaldo “Boler” Castellanos, a Guatemalan immigrant, is pleased with the opportunities that have come his way. But he knows that many others who want an opportunity to create a new life are denied that chance. “I want to show that we are coming here to work hard,” he says. Castellanos… Read More
Peruvian Brings Yoga to Growing Tampa Neighborhood
Lorena Saavedra Smith came to New York City with $300 in her pocket after earning her bachelor’s degree in Peru. While working as a nanny, she took English classes at a community college. Two years later, she got a job as a bilingual marketing representative for a real estate company. Read More
Immigrants Help Revive a Nebraska Meatpacking Town
Dulce Castañeda has always lived in Nebraska, and, over time, she’s witnessed a sea change in the small town of Crete, population 7,000. “There were maybe five or six Latino families when my parents arrived in the late 1990s,” says Castañeda, whose family were among those few Mexicans. “Since then,… Read More
In 2014, foreign-born residents contributed $4.1 billion to the GDP of Macomb County, MI, New Study Shows
Macomb County, MI – Today, OneMacomb and New American Economy released a report documenting the economic impact of immigrants in Macomb County. Accounting for 10.4 percent of the overall population, the foreign-born of Macomb County make an outsize contribution to the local economy through their high rates of entrepreneurship,… Read More
Smuggled Across the Border, Mexican Entrepreneur a Testament to Hard Work
When Jorge Peralta was 9 years old, his mother flew him and his brother from Peru to Mexico, bundled them into the back of someone’s car in Tijuana, and told them to pretend to be asleep. Peralta remembers a border officer shining a flashlight in his face before waving the… Read More
New Jersey Town Re-elects — and Re-elects and Re-elects — its Muslim Immigrant Mayor
When Mohamed Khairullah arrived in America at age 16, he had to carry around an Arabic-English dictionary to figure out what his teachers and classmates were saying. Today Khairullah is the mayor of Prospect Park, New Jersey, a township with 5,600 residents and a $4.5 million budget. “My work ethic… Read More
Virginia Entrepreneur Works Overtime to Help Other Immigrants Succeed
Thirty years ago, Fanny Smedile left behind a successful cafe she owned in Ecuador to flee an abusive husband. Despite knowing no English, she applied for a visa to join a cousin in New Jersey and found work there as a nanny and housekeeper, including for a professional football player. Read More
New Jersey Union Boss: America Doesn’t Function Without Immigrants
Walk through any Atlantic City casino and you’ll see immigrant dealers, bartenders, waiters, and more, says Bob McDevitt, president of UNITE HERE Local 54. The city’s largest union for casino workers. Local 54 has 10,000 members, two-thirds of whom are either Hispanic or Asian Americans. “If you take away immigrant… Read More
Immigrants Offset Population Decline, Keep Midwest Economy Afloat
In 2017, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs published “Immigration a Demographic Lifeline in Midwestern Metros,” a report demonstrating how immigrants have helped offset U.S.-born population loss across the Midwest and revitalized an aging workforce. “Native-born Americans are getting older, so working-age natives —… Read More
Without Immigrants, America’s Restaurant Industry ‘Would Collapse’
Sam Toia is president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA), which advocates on behalf of the industry and its workers. In the state of Illinois alone there are more than 27,000 restaurants, with total sales of $25.2 billion and more than 561,000 employees — nearly half of whom… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
