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First-Generation American Chef Says the Restaurant Industry Depends on Immigrants
Chef James Montejano has worked in some of the best restaurants in San Francisco and San Diego and knows that their success depends on talented trained kitchen staff performing daily miracles. Yet as the restaurant business continues to boom, chefs and restaurant owners are scrambling to find and retain the estimated 14 million workers` needed […]
Read MoreSenate Rejects Two Anti-Immigrant Bills Before It Goes out on Recess
This week, the Senate defeated cloture on motions to proceed—a motion to begin debate—on two “Sanctuary City” bills sponsored by Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). Both bills take an enforcement-only approach to immigration reform and fail to address the nation’s outdated immigration laws or the need to enact comprehensive reforms. Senator […]
Read MoreBenedictine Monk and College Professor Makes the Personal and Religious Case for Immigration Reform
To Christians, providing hospitality and loving one’s neighbor are moral imperatives. For Benedictine monk and college professor Brother Simon-Hòa Phan, such ideals have obvious extensions into U.S. immigration policy. In 1975, Brother Simon, now 52, fled Vietnam with his Catholic parents and six siblings, escaping from the rooftop of the American Embassy the day before […]
Read MoreGovernment Reverses Policy on Using Border Agents as Translators
In December 2012, then acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) David Aguilar had announced a policy restricting his agencies’ officers and agents from acting as interpreters for state or local law enforcement agencies—which had become a common practice along the northern and southern borders. However, just last month, current CBP Commissioner, Gil Kerlikowske reversed […]
Read MoreFrom 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, and how to convince people about the […]
Read MoreKansas City App Developer Sees Immigrants Helping Revitalize the American Heartland
More than 90 percent of the residents of Overland Park, Kansas, are American-born — but when Vijay Ainapurapu goes to work at the Sprint Nextel headquarters, where he’s an IT architect and app developer, he’s routinely surrounded by people hailing from places like Brazil, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and India. “More than half of the […]
Read MoreWhy California’s Bill Allowing Undocumented Immigrants to Purchase Health Insurance is Good Policy
Governor Jerry Brown of California signed a historic law which could make his state the first to allow undocumented immigrants to purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. SB10 directs the state to negotiate a waiver with the federal government to allow this population to purchase insurance on the state’s Covered California Health Insurance Exchange. […]
Read MorePaul Ryan’s New Border Security Plan Is More of the Same
This week Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) introduced his national security agenda, which included a plan to “secure the border.” As part of that plan, Speaker Ryan says, “America must secure the border once and for all by accelerating the deployment of fencing, technology, air assets, and personnel.” Ryan’s plan is […]
Read MoreImmigrants Have an ‘Enormous Work Ethic,’ Says Acclaimed Documentarian and Entrepreneur
In 2011, photographer and documentarian Jesus Ramirez was asked to help produce a special about the Mexican Revolution, to highlight the untold historic contributions brought to the United States by Mexicans fleeing their country. The goal was a single hourlong episode, but the order quickly grew to 20 independent episodes featuring a who’s who of […]
Read MoreSuccessful Education Startup Faces Challenges as Founders Straddle Three Continents
Thomas Ketchell hopes to transform America’s education system through a simple digital platform. The Belgian native is the CEO and co-founder of HSTRY, a tool that allows students and educators to create free interactive timelines—similar to those on Facebook or Twitter—documenting historical events. Ketchell first came up with the concept in 2012, while he and […]
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