Press Herald: Letter to the editor: Leadership of immigrants helped build U.S. economy

Before Congress throws out the baby with the bathwater, I’d like to remind nativists (those who approve of President Trump’s immigration policies) of the consequences of restricting immigration.

Republicans’ protest that they are only interested in reducing “illegal” immigration doesn’t wash. The reform bill introduced this year (sponsored by Sens. Tom Cotton and David Perdue) would cut legal immigration by 50 percent.

Last year, a study by the Partnership for the New American Economy found that 40.2 percent of all Fortune 500 companies were founded or co-founded by immigrants or their children. Together, these companies employ nearly 6 million Americans.

It is argued that we should allow immigration only to people with skills and higher education because only they can make a contribution to our culture and economy. Yet the record does not support that idea. Tens of thousands of people have reached our shores without those credentials – and many have emerged as industry leaders.

According to the George Mason University Institute for Immigration Research, Americans have won 40 percent of all Nobel Prizes ever awarded. And guess what: Immigrants account for about 35 percent of those winners. Last year, four Americans won the prize – and three of them are immigrants.

Read the full story from Press Herald: “Letter to the editor: Leadership of immigrants helped build U.S. economy”