Stories
Republican Professor Says Immigration Reform Is Vital for the U.S. Economy
During his 33-year career as a professor at the University of Illinois, College of Medicine at Peoria, Tom Hjelle, now retired, witnessed a dramatic demographic shift in the medical school. What began as a predominantly white and male student body transformed into one that draws men and women from different… Read More
Alberto Cardenas: Miami Republican Strategist Urges Immigration Reform
“I’m in love with America,” says Cuban-born attorney and Republican political strategist Alberto “Al” Cardenas. “It gave us an opportunity that I could not have had anywhere else. …I believe that every citizen should have an obligation to not only do for themselves and their families, but to a bigger… Read More
Republican Congressional Candidate from Tennessee Wants to See Immigration Reform—Not a Wall
Hunter Baker, an associate professor of political science at Tennessee’s Union University, is concerned about the future of the American economy, specifically as it relates to immigration. As one of 13 Republican candidates who competed to replace Congressman Stephen Fincher in Tennessee’s 8th district, he sees that “People are buying… Read More
Morales Group Founder Knows Immigrants Are Vital to Filling the Indianapolis Labor Shortage
The headquarters of the Morales Group is decorated with flags of 27 countries, and the word “Welcome” written in 27 languages. It’s a reminder of the many thousands of people, from around the world that the Indianapolis-based staffing agency has helped to begin new careers in America. The Morales Group,… Read More
Economist and College President: Those Students the U.S. Sends Home? They Could be the Next Google
Growing up in a middle-class family in Monterrey, Mexico, Jorge Gonzalez saw people living around him in poverty and longed to change the world. Now a respected professor of economics and the newly appointed president of Kalamazoo College, where he oversees more than 100 faculty and some 1,400 undergraduates, he… Read More
Starting a Promising Firm Didn’t Insulate this Iranian Scientist from Visa Worries
In 2004, Mehdi Yazdanpanah triggered a chemical reaction in a University of Louisville lab that, to his surprise, created tiny, metallic points. Intrigued, he devised a way to form individual needles – microscopic in size, yet conductive and strong, a unique combination that could advance cancer and other microscopic research. Read More
Why Is an Open Border Between the U.S. and Canada Important? Thousands of American Jobs
Birgit Matthiesen was working as a Canadian customs inspector when she struck up a friendship—and, later, a marriage—with a fellow agent, one who worked on the American side of the border. “We are,” she says, “the living example of the bilateral relationship.” Now the couple lives in Burlington, Vermont, and… Read More
Jamaican Immigrant Helps U.S. Kids to Help U.S. Companies
Peter Burns was born in Kingston, in Jamaica, and moved to the United States when he was 12 years old. Today, Burns works for Nokia, bringing communications infrastructure to cities across the country. In this position, he has seen the great degree to which the nation’s immigrants benefit the economy. Read More
For Successful Executive, Immigration is a Part of the Family History
Today, Sunny Lu Williams is a successful corporate executive who has brokered deals with Google and HTC, but she still remembers the day many years ago when her grandfather—a Chinese rice-farmer and later military man—spread some colorful banknotes on the table in front of her. The crumpled New Taiwan dollars… Read More
Refugees Help Manufacturing Firm Remain in South Dakota
South Dakota has an enviable problem, at least for workers: The state has a consistently low unemployment rate, typically about half the national average. This spring it dropped to 2.5 percent, the lowest in the country. For businesses, however—which are drawn to the state for its friendly tax… Read More
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