Stories
Lorain County Commissioner: Immigrants Boost Economic Growth
Over his eight-year tenure as a state representative for Ohio’s 55th district, current Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy saw how the negative national discourse on immigration reform so easily trickled down to the local level. “Many elected officials have turned something unique and positive – opportunity and improvement… Read More
Purdue Professor Says Our Economy Suffers When Talented International STEM Grads Are Forced to Leave
Professor Gerhard Klimeck is a master of the Conte, a huge supercomputer based in Indiana. Rippling with copper wire, Conte is capable of running the sort of design simulations that are responsible for our smaller and sleeker iPhones. Klimeck works in the cutting-edge field of nanotechnology, but he grew… Read More
Visa Process Too Daunting for U.S. Firms, Says Award-Winning Entrepreneur
The story of Radhika Reddy is a classic immigrant rags-to-riches tale. In 1989, Reddy left a low-paying banking job in India to come to Cleveland, Ohio, to earn a master’s degree in business administration at Case Western Reserve University. When she received permanent residency status six years later, she started… Read More
State Representative and Entrepreneur Says Talent Shortage is Hurting Economic Growth
Sam Rasoul epitomizes the ambitious spirit of America’s immigrant families. “My parents left the Middle East due to turmoil in the late 1960s,” says Rasoul, who was born in Ohio and raised in the Roanoke Valley. Rasoul, who would go on to earn an MBA, start two businesses, and help… Read More
In Immigrants, Michigan’s Business Community Sees a Way to Grow the Economy, Says Entrepreneur
When Bing Goei and his parents came to western Michigan in 1960, they were among the first Indonesians to arrive in the region, and their arrival made the front page of the local newspaper. “It must have been a slow news day,” Goei laughs. These days, it’s hardly big news… Read More
British Chef Cooks Up the Quintessential American Dream
British immigrant Mark Elliott opened his first restaurant, Elliott’s on Linden, in the fall of 2000, serving up southern staples such as shrimp and grits alongside more creative culinary endeavors like elk chops with lemon-sage marmalade and pomegranate jus. The fine-dining eatery was a hit: Within months, Elliott… Read More
Reform Allowing Immigrants To Study and Work Would Boost Community Output, Says Mexican-American Volunteer
After Angelica Velasquez’s father came to the United States from Mexico at age 20, he was deported several times. But he returned, married, and started a construction business. “He’s a contributor. Plus, they raised me and my five siblings, and we’re all great contributors,” says Velasquez, 41, the human resources… Read More
When Immigrants Move to Take Pork Industry Jobs, Businesses in Downtown Guymon Thrive
As the program director of Main Street Guymon, a resource center dedicated to helping businesses in the small city of Guymon, Oklahoma, succeed, Melyn Johnson has unique insight into what allows her community to thrive. Since its founding in 2005, her group has accumulated roughly $10 million in private funding. Read More
Immigration Lawyer in Virginia Sees Firsthand How Expanding the American Dream Helps All Americans
Lisa Johnson-Firth – founder and principal attorney at Immigrants First, an immigration and human rights law firm, and adjunct law professor at Georgetown University – believes that helping foreign nationals achieve their American dream is the best way for all of us to fulfill our dream of being… Read More
With Investors Wary of Non-Citizen Founders, Two Immigrants Launch Multimillion Dollar Startup With Credit Cards
Marcela Henao’s company, LeapFactor, helps corporations increase efficiency and revenue and boasts clients such as L’Oreal, Bayer, JPMorgan Chase, and Avon. The Colombian immigrant, who manages a team of tech professionals across Latin America from her company’s base in Miami, has been successful from the start. By 2014, just four… Read More
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