Center for Immigration Studies
Grocery Business Started by Indian Immigrants Thrives in Grand Rapids
When Sonal and Ramesh Patel built a house in Cascade, in southeast Grand Rapids, in 2011, they quickly noticed something missing: an Asian grocer on that side of town. The couple, from a small town in Gujarat, in western India, had been in West Michigan since 2004, when Ramesh was… Read More
Results of August 2018 National Voter Survey
In August 2018 New American Economy, Echelon Insights, and GBA Strategies conducted a national survey of voters across the country with a focus on voters in battleground districts looking at how a variety of immigration messages resonate with different voters. See the results here: Toplines Crosstabs… Read More
Mexican Immigrant Turns a Single Taqueria into a $25M Restaurant Group
Vicente Del Rio opened his first taquería while studying accounting in Mexico City — so when he came to Los Angeles in 2005 on an investor’s visa, it was only natural for him to start a restaurant serving up food from his homeland. Now his company, Frimex Hospitality Group, has… Read More
Undocumented Immigrant from Mexico Helps Houston Students “Reach Their Dreams, Too”
Carlos Sotelo was born in Mexico and brought to Houston undocumented as a baby. His parents worked low-income jobs and, after his father passed away suddenly when Sotelo was nine, his mother raised him alone in near-poverty. But Sotelo persevered. He worked hard in school, became a DACA recipient in… Read More
Immigrant to Denver Founds Dragon Boat Festival that Attracts 120,000 Attendees Annually
When Taiwanese Chinese immigrant Ding-Wen Hsu followed her engineer husband from Iowa to Denver after he received a job offer as a hydrologist, she admired the abundant Colorado sunshine and the beautiful Rocky Mountain landscape. But it was the welcoming attitude of Denverites that inspired her to stay for… Read More
Legal Orientation Program Overview
The Legal Orientation Program (LOP) offers legal education, as well as referrals for free and low-cost legal counsel, to noncitizens in immigration detention. Read More
Immigrants and Native-Born Americans Get the Job Done – Together
The power of the U.S. workforce is that both native- and foreign-born workers complement one another with different and equally needed skill sets. They cannot simply be substituted for one another. They each possess different degrees of proficiency in English, levels of formal education, and job experience. Unfortunately, the… Read More
Immigrant from China Builds Business in Seattle to Aid Other Immigrants with Naturalization
Two years ago, Chinese native Xiao Wang founded Boundless Immigration, a Seattle-based business that has helped over 30,000 immigrants apply for green cards and go through the naturalization process efficiently and economically. He was inspired by his own parents’ story: When they were graduate students in electrical engineering and… Read More
Argentinian Immigrant Provides Legal Advocacy to Families Across Nebraska and Southwest Iowa
As executive director of Immigrant Legal Center, Argentinian immigrant Emiliano Lerda provides legal advocacy to families across Nebraska and southwest Iowa. Recently his organization, which works primarily with new immigrants and low-income families, received a $4.5 million multi-year grant and an additional $3.1 million thanks to a capital campaign. When… Read More
Naturalized Citizen from Somalia Employs 50 in Minneapolis Restaurants
Abdirahman Kahin came to the United States in 1996 seeking asylum from Somalia. Today, he is a successful entrepreneur and the owner of Afro Deli, a fast-casual restaurant that serves a fusion of African, Mediterranean, and American food, with two locations in Minneapolis. He also co-owns Campus Cafe, a Turkish… Read More
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