Stories
Immigrant Entrepreneur Wants to Bring 500 Jobs to Tennessee, Needs Immigration Reform to Do It
When Darius Mir opened his company Made in America (MIA) Seating in Union City, Tenn. two years ago, he pledged to create 500 jobs for Tennessee’s 8th Congressional district in five years. Despite earning a projected $50 million in group sales this year alone, the U.S. immigration system may actually… Read More
South Korean Immigrant Making His Mark on Education, Business in Maine
South Korean immigrant Tae Chong spends his days helping to grow Maine’s economy. And he does this, specifically, by helping his fellow immigrants. Chong is a business adviser at Coastal Enterprises Inc., a nonprofit specializing in economic development with 11 offices across the state. There, he works in a program… Read More
This Regional Franchise Owner Recognizes Value of Immigrant Business Owners
As the regional franchise owner for commercial cleaning giant Jan-Pro Cleaning Systems Midwest, Alison Mairet oversees more than 40 franchisees, ranging in size from single-person businesses with revenues of $5,000 a year to million-dollar operations with large teams that serve scores of commercial clients. Mairet estimates that 40 percent of… Read More
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
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