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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 and my values were developed […]
Read MoreMillions of Children, Citizens Impacted by U.S. Immigration Enforcement
Increased attention to immigration enforcement in 2017 has propelled the serious issue of children being separated from an undocumented parent into national headlines. The stories of children, including U.S. citizens, being forcibly separated from a parent are sadly multiplying. In March, for example, 13-year-old Fatima Avelica witnessed and recorded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents […]
Read MoreColorado Signs Seal of Biliteracy into Law, as Top Colorado Employers and Industry Seek Bilingual Talent
Denver, Colorado – This week, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed into law the bipartisan Senate Bill 123, co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Kevin Priola and Democratic Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, establishing a Seal of Biliteracy program to recognize high school graduates who have attained proficiency in at least one language in addition to English. The Seal of […]
Read MoreImmigrants Offset Population Decline, Keep Midwest Economy Afloat
In 2017, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs published “Immigration a Demographic Lifeline in Midwestern Metros,” a report demonstrating how immigrants have helped offset U.S.-born population loss across the Midwest and revitalized an aging workforce. “Native-born Americans are getting older, so working-age natives — folks in their 30s and 40s — are declining,” says the […]
Read MoreIt’s Not up for Debate: Immigrants Invigorate the Economy
As any reputable economist will tell you, immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy in many ways. Yet the often subtle complexities of immigration economics are largely absent from a March 24 opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal authored by Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the anti-immigrant Center for Immigration Studies. To begin with, immigrants […]
Read MoreWithout Immigrants, America’s Restaurant Industry ‘Would Collapse’
Sam Toia is president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA), which advocates on behalf of the industry and its workers. In the state of Illinois alone there are more than 27,000 restaurants, with total sales of $25.2 billion and more than 561,000 employees — nearly half of whom are immigrants. “Immigrants are the […]
Read MoreSomali Asylee Now Creates Dozens of U.S. Jobs
Abdirahman Kahin came to the United States from Africa in 1996 seeking asylum. Today, he is a successful entrepreneur and the CEO of Afro Deli, a fast, casual restaurant with two locations in Minneapolis. “We’re about to open a third location at the airport,” he says, “and we’re approaching $2 million in revenue for 2017.” […]
Read MoreSizing Up the Gap in our Supply of STEM Workers: Data & Analysis
Each year on April 1, the U.S. government begins accepting applications for the H-1B program, a temporary visa program designed to bring in high-skilled workers from abroad. While the H-1B program has long been in need of updates and reforms—particularly since many of the wage requirements designed to protect American workers are almost two decades […]
Read MoreImmigrants Help Small Iowa Town Rebuild After Raid
In 2008 in Postville, Iowa, an immigration raid removed 389 undocumented workers from the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant. In the immediate aftermath, many other undocumented workers fled the town, which had a total population of only 2,000. The impact was devastating. “It interrupted our economy for at least a year, and hurt a lot of our […]
Read MoreIncreased Role of Police in Immigration Enforcement Heightens Need for Suppression of Unlawfully Obtained Evidence
Under the Trump administration’s recent executive order on interior enforcement, state and local police are being pressured to work closely with immigration officers to carry out sweeping immigration enforcement actions. Advocates fear that this approach will have devastating consequences for immigrant communities and undermine public safety and trust between these communities and police. In addition, […]
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