Venezuelan Drives Business Growth in Rural Indiana
Had it not been for a dramatic kidnapping, Daniela Vidal might never have left Venezuela. A trained chemical engineer, she had a good job in product development for Procter & Gamble. But when her fiancé was taken by guerrillas during a fishing trip on the Colombian border and held in… Read More
DACA Pre-Med Student ‘One of the People Who Makes America Great’
Maria’s mother never finished high school in Mexico. Instead, after having Maria at age 16, she and Maria’s father crossed the border into the United States. “They decided the best thing would be to come here and look for a better life,” says Maria, who has lived in Fort Wayne,… Read More
Think Policy Not Politics for Smart Immigration Reform, Says Professor
University of Houston political science professor Jeronimo Cortina is very optimistic about the future of race relations in this country — an outlook he says was inspired by his students. “Everyone sees themselves as equals,” says Cortina, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico in 2001. “They are used… Read More
From Boxcar to Law School, Refugee Pays His Second Chance Forward
After Luis Canales, a Honduran refugee, won his political asylum case in 2010, the court asked him what he intended to do with his life. He said he wanted to become a lawyer. Today, as a third-year law student at Villanova University -Charles Widger School of Law, he’s well… Read More
Activist Supports ‘Dreamers‘ — ‘Dreamers’ Support Economy
Sonny Garcia’s single mother was born in South Texas, but she spent years working as a migrant laborer to support her family. “There are a lot of undocumented people in that space,” Garcia says, whose own father was undocumented. “I grew up learning about what that meant, hearing stories about… Read More
New Jersey Town Re-elects — and Re-elects and Re-elects — its Muslim Immigrant Mayor
When Mohamed Khairullah arrived in America at age 16, he had to carry around an Arabic-English dictionary to figure out what his teachers and classmates were saying. Today Khairullah is the mayor of Prospect Park, New Jersey, a township with 5,600 residents and a $4.5 million budget. “My work ethic… Read More
New Study Shows More Than 12 STEM Jobs Posted for Every Available STEM Worker
New York, NY – As the U.S. government begins accepting applications for the H-1B temporary visa program, a new New American Economy (NAE) research brief finds that between 2010 and 2016, U.S. science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields face persistent and dramatic worker shortages. By analyzing data from… Read More
Ohio Town Welcomes Immigrants — for its Economic Wellbeing
Bruce Jeffers, a Bowling Green City Council member, knows that the factories and farms in his community — and in several surrounding counties — are facing a labor shortage. But one demographic is helping to revive places struggling with a declining and aging population: “Immigrants bring value to our communities,”… Read More
Virginia Entrepreneur Works Overtime to Help Other Immigrants Succeed
Thirty years ago, Fanny Smedile left behind a successful cafe she owned in Ecuador to flee an abusive husband. Despite knowing no English, she applied for a visa to join a cousin in New Jersey and found work there as a nanny and housekeeper, including for a professional football player. Read More
New Jersey Union Boss: America Doesn’t Function Without Immigrants
Walk through any Atlantic City casino and you’ll see immigrant dealers, bartenders, waiters, and more, says Bob McDevitt, president of UNITE HERE Local 54. The city’s largest union for casino workers. Local 54 has 10,000 members, two-thirds of whom are either Hispanic or Asian Americans. “If you take away immigrant… Read More
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