2020 End Of Year Report

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As we near the end of this unprecedented and challenging year, we want to thank you for your partnership and support. Despite a year like none other, we at New American Economy are proud of what we were able to accomplish.

Here’s a snapshot of what we did this year:

We pivoted our work to help fight COVID-19 and and show how immigrants are a key part of the response and recovery.

We launched the Immigration and COVID-19 Portal, and updated it weekly with new data on things like:

• Immigrant Healthcare Workers Are Critical in the Fight Against Covid-19
• Undocumented Immigrants and the Covid-19 Crisis
• Hispanic Americans in Healthcare and in Essential Roles
• Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans on the Frontlines
• The Growing Demand for Healthcare Workers by State
• Immigrant Workers in the Hardest-Hit Industries
• The Role of Immigrants in America’s Biomedical Industry
• Refugee Workers on the Frontlines and as Essential Workers
• Immigrant Workers Are Essential in Securing U.S. Food Supply Chain

We placed dozens of stories across the country featuring immigrant doctors working in rural areas (USA Today), undocumented healthcare workers (Houston Chronicle and U.S News & World Report), trained immigrant doctors who are underemployed in the states (Virginia Mercury), and refugees in healthcare (Detroit Free Press).

Along with World Education Services, we worked with the Governors of CO, NV, MI, NJ, MA, and NY to reduce licensing barriers and help qualified immigrant healthcare professionals join the front lines and fight the pandemic. 

We began a large-scale effort to understand the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on local communities of color, including immigrant communities. In early 2021, NAE — in partnership with local officials in Austin, Atlanta, Denver, Louisville and Tulsa — will launch a survey of local residents to understand how they have been impacted by COVID-19 with the goal of developing new measures for inclusive disaster response that can be replicated across the country. 

We released customized research with 12 local communities from Denver to Minneapolis to inform their culturally sensitive and inclusive emergency response measures. 

We released a State and Local Policy Resource Guide to local best practices around inclusive recovery and response efforts.

We took our events virtual and hosted things like: 

• An Instagram cooking series, New American Kitchen, to raise money for the immigrant chefs impacted by the country’s shutdown.
• A comedy show featuring  Julio Torres,Fred Armisen, Aidy Bryant, Nick Kroll, Natasha Lyonne and Bowen Yang, that raised more than $50,000 for undocumented immigrants in NYC.
• A virtual New American Festival, celebrating and supporting immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs all across the country. Learn more about them and shop their stores here. 

We partnered with Bloomberg Associates to develop and launch a toolkit for supporting immigrant and refugee business owners. It includes case studies and other tested strategies that local economic development professionals can deploy to help immigrant and refugee small business owners navigate local entrepreneurship support services, as well as strategies for building a stronger, more resilient and more inclusive ecosystem for all entrepreneurs.

We produced new and powerful data to show how immigrants are an essential part of America. 

This year, NAE Research produced 60 new research briefs, data interactives, factsheets, and reports, including:

• The NAE Cities Index, the first-ever interactive tool that measures how well the largest 100 U.S. cities are integrating immigrants. Now in its third year, cities have started using the index as a benchmark for progress.
• The New American Fortune 500: 2020, showing that in 2020, 44% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children.
• Map the Impact: County-Level Data, showing data on immigration in every county for the first time, in addition to data for every Congressional District, the top 100 cities, all 50 states, national-level data, and industry-specific data.

We told the stories that change minds, and highlight immigrant contributions in society.

This year, the NAE Storytelling Project placed almost 150 pieces in states across the country and nationally, including:

• I’m a Latino Republican — and I rejected Trump (San Antonio Express News)
• Trump’s immigration policies are hurting lawful immigrants too (Chicago Tribune)
• Work authorization for farmworkers will save farms like mine (Fox Business)
• Immigrants like my family have Louisville’s back. Don’t turn your back on us (Louisville KY Courier Journal)

We established our first Looking For America Fellow. Amber Perrodin, a long-time resident of Northwest Arkansas, adapted the LFA model to create the Ozark Story Project, a multi-week initiative to gather stories, recipes, photographs and other artifacts that tell local residents stories of belonging and resilience in the face of adversity. Next, Amber is launching a partnership with the local Artist’s Laboratory Theatre to turn these stories into a live theater performance that will be shared back with the community. 

We took our events virtual, and found ways to highlight and support immigrants across the country.

We also hosted a virtual book event for Sigh, Gone with author Phuc Tran and the Leader’s Forum. 

We partnered with the Abron’s Center and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center to put on a special performance of Art is Easy with Lorelei Ramirez. The event raised money to help cover naturalization costs and featured comedians Karen Chee, Julio Torres and Bowen Yang. 

We worked in states and localities, largely in conservative areas, to organize allies and make change on the ground. 

In partnership with Welcoming America, we announced our next cohort of communities for our Gateways for Growth (G4G) challenge, which offers tailored research and technical assistance to develop strategies to better integrate immigrants and drive economic growth.

We launched 2 new state-wide business coalitions: Colorado Business Coalition for Immigration Solutions (CBCIS) and Ohio Business for Immigration Solution (OBIS). They join Texans for Economic Growth in our growing list of business leaders for immigration reform. We also launched the Ohio Compact on Immigration, signed by over 20 chambers of commerce and business groups, and the Michigan Compact on Immigration, signed by 16 business groups representing more than 20,000 companies and more than one million employees in the state.

We used our data to fight for in-state tuition for all residents in Georgia, Missouri, and Virginia, and fight against anti-immigrant legislation in Ohio, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. 

We celebrated the establishment of Virginia’s Office of New Americans. 

We hosted the Office of New Americans (ONA) State Network (CA, MA, MD, MI, NJ, NV, NY, OH, VA, WA), in partnership with WES Global Talent Bridge. This year, we focused on COVID-19 response and provided key research on language access needs, the growing demand for healthcare workers, and the outsize role immigrants play in essential healthcare fields including nursing, respiratory therapy, and health aides. 

We released data on refugees that supported 39 governors, including 17 Republicans, in signing letters of consent opting into refugee resettlement.

Thank you

We couldn’t have done any of this without your support. As we look to 2021, we see real opportunities for immigration reform. We’re excited to get started — and we hope you’ll continue supporting us along the way. 

Here’s to a healthy, safe, and happy new year,

The Team at New American Economy