California, District 12
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
Belgian Entrepreneur’s Innovation Tracks Vital Health Stats; Company Creates American Jobs
From a young age in Belgium, Pierre-Jean Cobut felt inspired by America’s rags-to-riches stories and was sure he belonged in Silicon Valley. In Europe, he says, “There’s not the same culture of risk taking.” Two years of undergraduate study in the United States confirmed his infatuation, and Cobut got the… Read More
Retired Physician: Small Towns Need More Doctors, So Why Hinder Undocumented Med Students?
James Merrill has led a life of service. As a doctor in the small town of Enumclaw, Washington, he delivered some 3,000 babies. Many of the families he treated were Mexican immigrants and they made him part of their community. “I was invited to a lot of fiestas,” he says. Read More
Blackman Hinds v. Holder – First Circuit
At issue in the case is whether the Constitution and the immigration laws allow an immigration judge to enter a removal order without considering whether removal would be a disproportionate penalty under the circumstances. The amicus brief by the Council and the Post-Deportation Human Rights Project tells the stories of five individuals who either already have or soon will face the extreme penalty of deportation and a permanent reentry bar for minor or nonviolent crimes committed years earlier. The men and women featured in the brief share many attributes: all were lawful permanent residents; all established significant ties to this country; all left (or will leave) behind U.S. citizen family members; all committed nonviolent crimes; all have demonstrated rehabilitation; and none was afforded the opportunity to explain to the immigration judge why forcible removal from the country was unjustified under the circumstances. The brief throws into stark relief the real life human consequences of stripping judges of the ability to consider the totality of the circumstances before entering an order of removal. Read More
Citing U.S. Immigration Policy, Award-Winning Entrepreneur Forced to Move 25 Jobs to South America
It’s no surprise that Colombian-born entrepreneur Alex Torrenegra was named one of the World Economic Forum’s 2015 Young Global Leaders, MIT’s TR35 Colombia Top Innovator of the Year in 2012, and one of Business Insider’s 2013 “Badass Immigrants in Tech.” Fifteen years ago, after… Read More
“American Food is Immigrant Food,” Says the Owner of Food Services Business Incubator
Caleb Zigas has worked in restaurants for most of his life, from dishwasher to pastry chef to waiter, and was always struck by the fact that many talented line cooks were immigrants who had limited opportunities to be restaurant owners. “They didn’t have the same access to capital and wealth,”… Read More
Successful Tech CEO Wants to Hire American Workers, but U.S. Immigration Won’t Let Him Stay in the Country
Peteris Krumins has been fascinated by computers for as long as he can remember. “As a child, I would spend literally all my time tinkering with hardware and software,” he says. By the time he was 15, he’d already been hired as a professional computer programmer in his native Latvia. Read More
Immigration Policy Nearly Drives Entrepreneur’s $20 Million Company From America
Brian Wong is redefining mobile advertising. The Canadian co-founder and CEO of Kiip — a company that offers rewards to players who reach new levels on mobile games or apps — has raised more than $20 million in venture capital and counts Coke, Kellogg’s, and Unilever among his customers. And… Read More
Business Accelerator Executive Says Immigrants Add “Massive Societal and Economic Value” to U.S. Economy
Marc Nager believes that humans are hardwired for entrepreneurship. “With the right support, almost anyone can start their own business,” he says. And he should know: As the Chief Community Officer at Techstars, “a global ecosystem that helps entrepreneurs build great businesses,” Nager has helped… Read More
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