Stories
From Flea Markets to International Board Rooms, Malaysian American Epitomizes Immigrant Entrepreneurship
“My mom always encouraged me to be entrepreneurial,” says serial entrepreneur and angel investor Cheryl Yeoh. As a teenager in Malaysia, Yeoh would sell inventory from her mother’s catalogue company to local corporations and set up flea markets during school holidays. “I learned a lot about sales, negotiations,… Read More
This Peoria-Based Doctor and Medical Professor Sees Everyday How Immigrants Help Her Community Thrive
Between 1971, when Dr. M. Miller joined the faculty of the newly opened University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria, Illinois, and today, she has seen the city’s foreign-born population more than double. She attributes much of the area’s economic success to their contributions. On a personal… Read More
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
Why Do Migrant Workers Deserve Immigration Reform? Because They Help Uphold the American Economy
Annaliza Gourneau, a Commissioner of the Mesilla Valley Public Housing Authority and a Program Coordinator with the nonprofit HELP-New Mexico, Inc. (HELP-NM), knows firsthand what it’s like to grow up without a permanent home. “As a migrant child you experience homelessness,” she says. “You’re borderline homeless, or you are homeless. Read More
Executive Director Says Immigration Policy Must Respond to Undocumented Immigrants “Case By Case”
“When I came to Jardín we had $20,000 in the bank and we were losing $20,000 a month,” recalls Audrey Hartley, the executive director of the New Mexico nonprofit Jardín de los Niños, which provides parenting education and childcare for low income and homeless families. But Hartley, who arrived at… Read More
Kansas City App Developer Sees Immigrants Helping Revitalize the American Heartland
More than 90 percent of the residents of Overland Park, Kansas, are American-born — but when Vijay Ainapurapu goes to work at the Sprint Nextel headquarters, where he’s an IT architect and app developer, he’s routinely surrounded by people hailing from places like Brazil, the Philippines, Hong Kong,… Read More
Going From Masters Degree to Meat Processing, But Still Looking Ahead to a Bright Future
Sam Komla Ewu holds a master’s degree in linguistics from one of the best universities in Togo, a small West African country, and has years of experience teaching high school English. Today, however, he makes his living carving up pig carcasses at a JBS meat-processing plant in Beardstown, Ill. —… Read More
What Do Farmers in Michigan Need? ‘Labor, Labor, Labor’
In 2012, a brutal frost destroyed much of Michigan’s apple and cherry harvests, forcing farmers to turn away the migrant fruit-pickers who had traveled up from Texas and Florida. Many of the workers never came back. The following year, a bumper crop of fruit wound up rotting on the trees,… Read More
Founder of $1 Million Startup Forced to Scrap Business Due to U.S. Immigration Policy
Indian-born immigrant Ketaki Desai has made important contributions in her adopted home in America. As executive director of eCenter@LindenPointe, a business incubator in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, she has helped create more than 45 jobs and coached 50 startups, all while maintaining a $300,000 annual budget. She says the incubator’s largest contribution… Read More
A Consultant to Fortune 500 Companies Says Restrictive Immigration Policy Keeps Her From Referring Top Talent
As a consultant who helps businesses solve staffing problems, Letty Velez has worked with several Fortune 500 companies, including Walmart, Macy’s, and Hyatt Hotels. But she’s frustrated: When those companies need to hire personnel, she can’t recommend the most talented people she knows. “I’m meeting incredible people, but I can’t… Read More
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