Global Competitiveness
The United States has long been the destination for the world’s most talented immigrants. Despite the last 50 years of technological advancement, American immigration policy has remained virtually unchanged, putting in danger America's global competitiveness. Yesterday's immigration policy no longer meets today’s economic needs. Only about 14 percent of all U.S. green cards are given for economic reasons, compared to more than 60 percent in Canada and Australia. With no dedicated visa for entrepreneurs and numerous barriers to residency in place for international students to stay after graduation, America's outdated immigration policy could allow other countries to out-compete us by attracting and keeping the best and brightest there and not here.
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
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
Immigration System “Has Not Kept Up with the Times” Says Successful Korean-Born Lawyer
“Immigrants—the risk takers and the entrepreneurs—built this country and made America great,” says Sung Je Lee. “But today’s immigration system doesn’t acknowledge that history at all, and the United States loses job creators every year.” Lee, who is originally from South Korea but grew up in Indonesia, first came to… Read More
Entrepreneur Sees Fellow MIT Grads Made to Leave the U.S. Due to Immigration Policies
Spanish-born Bernat Olle hopes to revolutionize healthcare by using microbes as medicine. Olle is the CEO and co-founder of Vedanta Biosciences, a Cambridge-based company whose technology alters how the trillions of microbes in our body interact with our immune system. “It’s a completely new way to approach medicine,” Olle says,… Read More
Iowa Colleges Press for Immigration Reform
For generations, our colleges and universities have served as essential catalysts for stimulating Iowa’s economy. Together we provide the advanced stages of education for our pipeline of human talent, produce basic and applied research, and develop leadership coupled with entrepreneurial spirit. The ultimate measure of our success is found across… Read More
Immigrant Entrepreneur Named “Engineer of the Year”
Dr. Karen Lozano is no stranger to public recognition for her achievements. A Mexican-born professor of mechanical engineering at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and a leading researcher in the field of nanotechnology, Lozano has won prizes ranging from R&D grants to outstanding teaching awards. Still,… Read More
50 Years Later, How Far Have We Come: A Look at the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act
Tomorrow, October 3, marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. On this day 50 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson gave a speech from New York’s Liberty Island, introducing to the nation a vision for a more inclusive, more capable… Read More
Business forum discusses bringing international talent to Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Welcoming people from other countries and encouraging them to get involved in the local business scene was the goal of a forum today at the Seelbach Hilton. Greater Louisville Inc. and several other groups talked about how the city can attract economic talent from around the… Read More
Tech and immigration: ‘PJ’ stays for now, but Echo Labs’ fate up in the air
You might have heard about the campaign to “Let PJ Stay.” Well, PJ — a Belgian entrepreneur whose student visa was set to expire soon and who had recently become the face of tech’s push for immigration reform — gets to stay. But he and his company may have to… Read More
Impending Labor Challenges
The United States is facing demographic challenges that endanger its preeminent economic position in the world. An aging workforce threatens the vitality of the labor force. At the same time, the supply of U.S.-trained engineers is lagging behind nearly all other industrialized economies. At a time when tech-heavy and innovation driven industries are driving economic growth, the United States faces the prospect of being left behind.
Table 1: Share of Population Age 65+, 1996, 2006, 2016 and projected 2030
Table 2: Share of Undergrads Studying Engineering
Prioritizing Economic Needs
Many countries have identified the link between immigration and economic growth. For many, such moves are a matter of necessity–the domestic labor force is not sufficient for an expanding economy, and aging populations and declining fertility rates are creating labor shortages. Despite facing some of the same challenges, U.S. immigration policy has not changed to reflect our economy’s evolving needs.
Table 3: Percentage of All Permanent Residency Visas Given for Economic Reasons*
Need for a Start-Up Visa
Countries around the world, from France, to Chile, to Singapore have created visas aimed at attracting promising entrepreneurs and job creators. Despite concerns about meager job creation and business growth, however, the United States has not taken a similar step, endangering our position in the global race for talent. This situation was made worse in 2017 when the administration took the first steps to kill the International Entrepreneur Rule, a measure that would have allowed entrepreneurs with outside funding to remain in the country for 2.5 years to establish their businesses.
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No one should face the immigration system alone
