Policy

In North Carolina, there is no doubt that immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators play an important role. Immigrant entrepreneurs bring in additional revenue, create jobs, and contribute significantly to the state’s economy. Highly skilled immigrants are vital to the state’s innovation economy, and to the metropolitan areas within the state, helping to boost local economies. Furthermore, local government, business, and non-profit leaders recognize the importance of immigrants in their communities and support immigration through local “welcoming” and integration initiatives.

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Published On: Fri, Jul 19, 2013 | Download File

In Michigan, there is no doubt that immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators play an important role. Immigrant entrepreneurs bring in additional revenue, create jobs, and contribute significantly to the state’s economy. Highly skilled immigrants are vital to the state’s innovation economy, and to the metropolitan areas within the state, helping to boost local economies. Furthermore, local government, business, and non-profit leaders recognize the importance of immigrants in their communities and support immigration through local “welcoming” and integration initiatives.

Immigrant entrepreneurs contribute significantly to Michigan’s economy.

• From 2006 to 2010, immigrants founded 30,223 businesses in Michigan, and in 2010, 10.4 percent of all business owners in Michigan were foreign-born.

• In 2010, new immigrant business owners had a total net business income of $1.8 billion, which is 9.2 percent of all net business income in the state.

• Michigan’s foreign-born were more than three times as likely as the native-born population to start a new business between 1996 and 2007.

• In particular, 32.8 percent of high-tech startups in Michigan between 1990 and 2005 had an immigrant founder, which places Michigan third out of all fifty states and means that Michigan’s immigrants are six times more likely to start a high-tech firm than U.S.-born residents.

Highly skilled immigrants are vital to Michigan’s innovation economy.Read more...

Published On: Fri, Jul 19, 2013 | Download File

In Iowa, there is no doubt that immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators play an important role. Immigrant entrepreneurs bring in additional revenue, create jobs, and contribute significantly to the state’s economy. Highly skilled immigrants are vital to the state’s innovation economy, and to the metropolitan areas within the state, helping to boost local economies. Furthermore, local government, business, and non-profit leaders recognize the importance of immigrants in their communities and support immigration through local “welcoming” and integration initiatives.

Immigrant entrepreneurs contribute significantly to Iowa’s economy.

• From 2006 to 2010, there were 4,823 new immigrant business owners in Iowa, and in 2010, 3.1 percent of all business owners in the state were foreign-born.

• In 2010, new immigrant business owners had a total net business income of $215.8 million, which is 2.8 percent of all net business income in the state.

Highly skilled immigrants are vital to Iowa’s innovation economy.Read more...

Published On: Fri, Jul 19, 2013 | Download File

In Indiana, there is no doubt that immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators play an important role. Immigrant entrepreneurs bring in additional revenue, create jobs, and contribute significantly to the state’s economy. Highly skilled immigrants are vital to the state’s innovation economy, and to the metropolitan areas within the state, helping to boost local economies. Furthermore, local government, business, and non-profit leaders recognize the importance of immigrants in their communities and support immigration through local “welcoming” and integration initiatives.

Immigrant entrepreneurs contribute significantly to Indiana’s economy.

• From 2006 to 2010, there were 11,995 new immigrant business owners in Indiana, and in 2010, 5.2 percent of all business owners in Indiana were foreign-born.

• In 2010, new immigrant business owners had total net business income of $721.6 million, which is 5.6 percent of all net business income in the state.

Highly skilled immigrants are vital to Indiana’s innovation economy.Read more...

Published On: Fri, Jul 19, 2013 | Download File

In Arkansas, there is no doubt that immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators play an important role. Immigrant entrepreneurs bring in additional revenue, create jobs, and contribute significantly to the state’s economy. Highly skilled immigrants are vital to the state’s innovation economy, and to the metropolitan areas within the state, helping to boost local economies. Furthermore, local government, business, and non-profit leaders recognize the importance of immigrants in their communities and support immigration through local “welcoming” and integration initiatives.

Immigrant entrepreneurs contribute significantly to Arkansas’ economy.

• From 2006 to 2010, there were 6,171 new immigrant business owners in Arkansas, and in 2010, 5 percent of all business owners in the state were foreign-born.

• In 2010, new immigrant business owners had total net business income of $286.7 million, which is 4.7 percent of all business income in the state.

• Arkansas had a 160 percent increase in Hispanic-owned businesses, growing from 2,094 businesses in 2002 to 5,457 in 2007, according to Census Bureau data.

Highly skilled immigrants are vital to Arkansas’ innovation economy.Read more...

Published On: Fri, Jul 19, 2013 | Download File

In Alabama, there is no doubt that immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators play an important role. Immigrant entrepreneurs bring in additional revenue, create jobs, and contribute significantly to the state’s economy. Highly skilled immigrants are vital to the state’s innovation economy, and to the metropolitan areas within the state, helping to boost local economies. Furthermore, local government, business, and non-profit leaders recognize the importance of immigrants in their communities and support immigration through local “welcoming” and integration initiatives.

Immigrant entrepreneurs contribute significantly to Alabama’s economy.

• From 2006 to 2010, there were 7,968 new immigrant business owners in Alabama, and in 2010, 4.6 percent of all business owners in the state were foreign-born.

• In 2010, new immigrant business owners had total net business income of $337.3 million, which is 3.4 percent of all net business income in the state.

• According to the Fiscal Policy Institute: “It is interesting to note that Alabama ranks toward the bottom of the list of immigrant share of population (3 percent) and labor force (4 percent), but is in the top half of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia (at 20th) in the ratio of foreign-born share of business owners to U.S.-born share. In Alabama, immigrant workers are 10 percent more likely than U.S.-born counterparts to be small business owners.”

Highly skilled immigrants are vital to Alabama’s innovation economy.Read more...

Published On: Fri, Jul 19, 2013 | Download File

In Ohio, there is no doubt that immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators play an important role. Immigrant entrepreneurs bring in additional revenue, create jobs, and contribute significantly to the state’s economy. Highly skilled immigrants are vital to the state’s innovation economy, and to the metropolitan areas within the state, helping to boost local economies. Furthermore, local government, business, and non-profit leaders recognize the importance of immigrants in their communities and support immigration through local “welcoming” and integration initiatives.

Immigrant entrepreneurs contribute significantly to Ohio’s economy.

• From 2006 to 2010, immigrants founded 20,768 businesses in Ohio, and in 2010, 6.7 percent of all business owners in Ohio were foreign-born.

• In 2010, new immigrant business owners had total net business income of $1.3 billion, which is 5.7 percent of all net business income in the state.

• Immigrant entrepreneurs have contributed to Ohio’s economy throughout the state’s history, founding such companies as Proctor & Gamble and Eaton Corporation. Other Ohio-based Fortune 500 companies had at least one immigrant or child of an immigrant co-founder, including Kroger, Limited Brands, Big Lots, and Owens-Illinois.

Highly skilled immigrants are vital to Ohio’s innovation economy.Read more...

Published On: Fri, Jul 19, 2013 | Download File

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), the fiscal and economic effects of the Senate immigration reform bill (S. 744) would be overwhelmingly positive. If enacted, the bill would help reduce the federal budget deficit by approximately $1 trillion over 20 years, would boost the U.S. economy as whole without negatively affecting U.S. workers, and would greatly reduce future undocumented immigration. These are the conclusions laid out in three reports released in June and July 2013. On June 18, the CBO issued two reports on the version of S. 744 that was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 28. The first one analyzes (or “scores”) the fiscal impact of the bill over the next 20 years and the second one focuses on the impact that some aspects of the bill would have on the U.S. economy. On July 3, the CBO issued a revised score on the version of the bill that passed the Senate on June 27. This version includes the Corker-Hoeven “border surge” amendment, which calls for a significant increase in border-enforcement spending.

What is a CBO score and what are its main implications?

Nearly every bill that is approved by a full committee of either house of Congress is subject to a formal cost estimate by the CBO. The report produced as a result of this analysis is known as the CBO “score.” The purpose of this analysis is to aid in economic and budgetary decisions on a wide assortment of programs covered by the federal budget. In general, the CBO estimates what the net fiscal impact of a bill would be, considering both the costs and the benefits associated with its implementation.Read more...

Published On: Thu, Jun 20, 2013 | Download File

By Lisa S. Roney

One of the themes that emerged from the Senate Judiciary Committee mark up of the 2013 Senate immigration bill was the necessity of avoiding the mistakes of the past. In the context of legalization for the 11 million unauthorized immigrants now in the United States, the argument is often made that the 1986 law wasn’t tough enough, and any new legalization program should have more requirements and restrictions. However, in my 39-year career with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and after years of studying implementation of the 1986 law, I’ve reached a different conclusion. A successful legalization program depends on simplicity and common sense. There are many lessons to be learned from the 1986 law about how to design a better legalization program. Fortunately, many of those lessons have been absorbed by the drafters of S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act. Nonetheless, as the debate continues on this bill, it is important to reiterate the importance of good design and thoughtful implementation. That is what will ensure success and provide the country with a working immigration system. Read more...

Published On: Wed, Jun 19, 2013 | Download File