Press-Republican In My Opinion: Let international students stay
On Saturday, as I watched my friends and classmates walk across the stage to accept their hard-earned diplomas at SUNY Plattsburgh’s commencement ceremony, I couldn’t help but imagine myself dressed in the same cap and gown next year. That’s when I’m expected to graduate with my master’s degree in mental… Read More
Immigration and the Small Business Workforce
Introduction Chairwoman Velázquez, Ranking Member Chabot, and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today and provide testimony on behalf of New American Economy (NAE). NAE is a bipartisan coalition of more than 500 mayors and business leaders from all 50 states and every… Read More
New Report Shows Immigrants in Roanoke Contributed Over $75 Million in Taxes in 2017
Roanoke, VA – Immigrant households earned nearly $304 million and contributed over $75 million in taxes in 2017, according to new research by New American Economy (NAE) in partnership with the City of Roanoke and Local Colors, a non-profit that celebrates the city’s… Read More
The Roanoke Times: City seeks immigrant input to refine Roanoke planning policies
When Stacey Johnson-Pulliam lost her job in Greensboro during the Great Recession, she and her husband, Chris Pulliam, moved to Salem for a new opportunity. They passed out cookies in their cul-de-sac. Neighbors were friendly. Six years later, the couple moved to Roanoke. That transition, Pulliam told a couple of… Read More
Chinese Immigrant Rerooted Herself in Roanoke—And Became a PhD-holding Professor
Rebecca Chang moved to Roanoke to be with her husband, whom she met while on a work assignment in the United States. This was in 1990, when few from mainland China called Virginia home. Her husband had to briefly travel a few months after she arrived, leaving her alone… Read More
After Escaping War, Bosnian Refugee Helps Others Make Roanoke Home
Elvir Berbic’s family fled Bosnia when war broke out in 1992. “One day I went to school, and out of four grades—so about 80 students—10 showed up to class,” Berbic says. “They told us, ‘School is over. We don’t know when it’s going to be open. Go home. Be… Read More
Roanoke Workforce Benefits from a Local Immigrant’s Translation Business
Elda Stanco-Downey’s family comes from a long line of immigrants: her great-grandparents immigrated to the United States; her grandfather immigrated to Italy; and her father immigrated to Venezuela, where she grew up speaking three languages. She completed the circle, moving to the United States to earn bachelor’s, master’s, and… Read More
Richmond Times-Dispatch Opinion: Luis Angel Aguilar column: Fighting to stay out of the shadows
Since I was 15 years old, I’ve always felt anxious about looking for a job. I worried an employer might discover I was an undocumented immigrant. For nearly a decade, I managed to slide under the radar and take whatever jobs I could get in construction, restaurants and hotel housekeeping. Read More
The Los Angeles Daily News Opinion: The continuing cost of the Trump Muslim ban
As a lawyer with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, I see plenty of people trying to navigate our immigration system, some with more success than others. Not long ago, a Syrian-born client named Hasan attended a green-card interview at the United States Embassy in Rome alongside Sarah, his American wife. Read More
The Rivard Report: Trump Action Could Put Immigrant Spouses Like Me Out of Work
When a United States pharmaceutical company offered my husband an information technology job in 2008, I was excited to join him in the United States with our 5-month-old daughter. As we boarded a plane from India, I felt like we were embarking on a great family adventure. But when I… Read More
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No one should face the immigration system alone
