Center for Immigration Studies
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
Colorado 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… Read More
Immigrants 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 —… Read More
International Students Generate Millions for Oklahoma University — and Town
Kyle McMichael is the international student advisor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, located in the small town of Durant, 150 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. The mere presence of foreign students not only guarantees his job, it also represents roughly $3 million for the university in out-of-state tuition revenue. “They… Read More
Kentucky Crop And Tobacco Farmer Says: Without Migrant Labor, ‘I Couldn’t Do What I Do’
Charlie Hancock has been farming in Tennessee for 37 years, and without foreign labor, he says, “there’s absolutely no way I could do what I do.” Hancock’s diverse range of crops — soybeans, wheat, straw, corn, and dark-fired tobacco — generates annual revenue of $700,000. But the labor-intensive harvesting work keeps… Read More
It’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… Read More
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