Stories
Xconomy Opinion: America Should Welcome Immigrant Entrepreneurs
When I came to America in 1987, as a wide-eyed University of Texas grad student, I arrived with just a suitcase and a few hundred dollars — money that my mother, back in India, had scraped together by selling her beloved jewelry collection. Three decades later, I’m a successful biomedical… Read More
USA Today Opinion: My immigrant-owned small business would hire Americans. Trump’s proposal would keep it closed.
On the main street of downtown Frisco, Texas, the storefront space I have rented since September has yet to open for business. Along with my husband, Chandan Gaddam, I have purchased furniture and supplies for my art studio, and I’ve interviewed five U.S. citizens whom I’d like to hire. All together,… Read More
The Kansas City Star Commentary: Kobach, Yoder campaigns said immigrants are scary. Their loss proves we’re changing
Over the past few weeks, we have watched as the Trump administration’s nativist, anti-immigrant ideology has brought our government to a grinding halt. The partial federal shutdown has directly impacted the well-being of more than 800,000 federal workers, their families and the American people who rely on government services. But… Read More
Des Moines Register Opinion: For millennials, immigration policy is personal and drives political activism
Last spring, after graduating from Drake University, I spent months canvassing my congressional district for Progressive Turnout Project, an organization designed to get out the vote for Democrats. Like many millennials in the state, I was inspired by progressive candidates like Cindy… Read More
Filipino Immigrant Brings High Fashion to Grand Rapids
When pressed, Romel “RC” Caylan, a rising design star, may describe himself as a kind of fashion ambassador for Grand Rapids. Truth be told, he simply loves the city, and honors the journey that brought him to this corner of Michigan. Caylan was born in Iligan City and raised in… Read More
Entrepreneur from Argentina Helps Keep Jobs in Michigan
Natalia Kovicak was 22 when she met her future husband on a beach in Mexico. She had a bachelor’s degree in human resources and public relations from the University of Palermo and a good job with the Coca-Cola company in Buenos Aires. She had also launched her own event-planning business. Read More
Entrepreneurs Raised in Mexico Give Back through Business Training
Although Ruben Ramos was born in the United States, his family returned to their village in the Sierra Madre Mountains, in Mexico, when he was a baby. When they moved back to the States—to Chicago then Grand Rapids—Ramos was 10 years old and didn’t know a word of English. “I… Read More
Grocery Business Started by Indian Immigrants Thrives in Grand Rapids
When Sonal and Ramesh Patel built a house in Cascade, in southeast Grand Rapids, in 2011, they quickly noticed something missing: an Asian grocer on that side of town. The couple, from a small town in Gujarat, in western India, had been in West Michigan since 2004, when Ramesh was… Read More
Immigrant to Denver Founds Dragon Boat Festival that Attracts 120,000 Attendees Annually
When Taiwanese Chinese immigrant Ding-Wen Hsu followed her engineer husband from Iowa to Denver after he received a job offer as a hydrologist, she admired the abundant Colorado sunshine and the beautiful Rocky Mountain landscape. But it was the welcoming attitude of Denverites that inspired her to stay for… Read More
Immigrant from China Builds Business in Seattle to Aid Other Immigrants with Naturalization
Two years ago, Chinese native Xiao Wang founded Boundless Immigration, a Seattle-based business that has helped over 30,000 immigrants apply for green cards and go through the naturalization process efficiently and economically. He was inspired by his own parents’ story: When they were graduate students in electrical engineering and… Read More
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