May Day 2017: Why immigrant labor is more important now than ever

On Monday, tens of thousands were expected to walk out of their jobs and take to the streets for a national Day Without Immigrants strike. The strike was predicted by organizers to be the largest single-day labor strike in over a decade.

The message of Monday’s protest was simple: Immigrants power the U.S. economy, and America needs them now more than ever. Experts couldn’t agree more.

“All net job growth is coming from new businesses, and native-born Americans are becoming less entrepreneurial while new immigrants are picking up the slack,” Jeremy Robbins, executive director for New American Economy, a bipartisan organization devoted to highlighting the economic benefits of immigration reform, said in an interview. “Last year, even though immigrants were 13% of the population, they started 20% of new businesses, and that’s a huge thing.”

Read the full story at Mic: “May Day 2017: Why immigrant labor is more important now than ever“