Stories
A Chinese-American Executive Helps Chinese Companies Invest in Michigan Workers
Chinese companies are expected to invest $30 billion in the United States this year — and as president of the Detroit Chinese Business Association, Jerry Xu is determined to ensure that as many of those dollars as possible come to Michigan. The Wolverine State already… Read More
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
When a 5th Grader Acts Out, a Teacher Finds Out Why: His Mother Had Been Deported
Laura Kohl has spent the last two decades teaching elementary and middle school students, but it was one fifth grader who motivated her to become active with the North County Immigration Task Force (NCITF). The student had become hostile to her and had begun to bully other children, and she… Read More
The Big Easy Would Be Hard Pressed To Keep Building Without Immigrants, Says Catholic Charities Lawyer
Born in San Juan, Texas, to a migrant worker from Mexico, Homero Lopez Jr. grew up moving around the country as his mother found work on farms and in restaurants, hotels, and meatpacking facilities. He sometimes worked beside her, harvesting crops like potatoes, beets, and onions. Occasionally,… 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
With Young Workers Leaving, Immigrants Are Key to Growing Maine’s Economy, Says Chamber President
As president of the Maine Chamber of Commerce, Dana F. Connors serves as the voice for 5,000 businesses from across all sectors and regions. “Our emphasis is on those policies and legislative issues that will help grow our economy and improve the business climate with a focus on creating and… Read More
From South Vietnam to The U.S. Capitol: An Immigrant Tale
Joseph Cao believes a letter he received as a boy from his father helped steer his life’s course—although he didn’t recognize it at the time. Cao’s father, an officer allied with American forces in South Vietnam, had been captured by the North Vietnamese in 1975, at the close… Read More
Alabama’s Anti-Immigrant Policies Have Hurt American Construction Companies—and the State’s Economy
Bill Caton, chief operating officer of the Alabama AGC—a non-residential construction association of more than 800 contractors, construction managers, and suppliers—says the state’s anti-immigration policies have created major problems for his industry—one that has a $10 billion annual economic impact on the state. “Until the state passed laws that made… Read More
Make a contribution
Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
