Partnership for a New American Economy

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Enact Rational Immigration Policies

Omaha.com
October 23, 2012

Few issues come as politically charged as immigration, but on the ground here in the Cornhusker State, we must consider immigrants through a different lens.

Restaurants and food service are a $1.9 billion industry in Nebraska, one that depends on all 67,000 of its employees. The industry is the second-largest private-sector employer in the state (nationwide it’s No. 1), and it employs immigrant workers at a high rate.

The Nebraska Restaurant Association recognizes that continuing growth in our industry depends on rational immigration policies that provide access to a reliable, legal work force. Hardworking immigrants contribute significantly to our state, not only as key restaurant workers but also as customers and entrepreneurs who add flavor to our dining options when they open their own restaurants.

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U.S. Immigration Choice: Education vs. Diversity, or Both?

San Jose Mercury News
October 19, 2012

People around the world with accredited degrees in science and math should "get a green card stapled to their diploma," Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said in his Tuesday night debate with President Barack Obama, who has made similar appeals to retain skilled foreign students.

Stewed over by lawmakers since 2009, the visa-stapled degree is a bipartisan idea that Congress has been unable to achieve. Election-year politicking brought a rare opening but then quickly shut the door to compromise this fall -- specifically, whether to create more opportunities for highly educated scientists and engineers to stay in the United States at the expense of shutting down a random lottery of visas.

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Immigration Reform is Good for Business

The Boston Globe
October 21, 2012

For hardliners who refuse to consider a guest worker program for illegal immigrants, a moment of truth may be approaching. If undocumented workers are truly taking jobs that would otherwise go to Americans, then unskilled workers should be flocking to the fields of states like Arizona and Alabama, which have instituted draconian crackdowns on illegal immigrants.

Alas, it isn’t happening. The American Farm Bureau Federation recently estimated that labor shortages from state crackdowns on illegal immigration are costing the economy between $5 billion and $9 billion. In some states, farms are heavily dependant on undocumented labor both to plant and harvest crops. Now, they simply do not have the bodies to work the fields.

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Immigration and American Jobs

New York Times
October 19, 2012

Of all the economic dynamics buffeting the American middle class, immigration might seem the easiest to explain: as millions of poor immigrants from Latin America poured illegally into the country seeking work, the conventional wisdom goes, they competed with more expensive American workers, displacing them from their jobs and undercutting their wages.

This understanding of immigration helped propel a vast increase in the Border Patrol’s budget over the last two decades to stop immigrants on their way in. It was the rationale for proposals to build a long, tall fence along the southern border. President Obama, who in 2008 said he would push for a law that would grant many of these immigrants legal access to jobs in the United States, instead deported a record number of immigrants working here illegally.

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Ravenstahl Joins Other Mayors in Call for Immigration Reform

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
October 19, 2012

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl joined mayors and business leaders from across the country in pledging to reform U.S. immigration laws, saying foreign-born talent is critical for the city's economy.

In signing the Partnership for a New American Economy on Friday, Ravenstahl committed Pittsburgh to a national coalition led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The group believes strict immigration policies sap American potential for attracting the world's brightest minds.

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Ravenstahl Supports National Immigration Reform

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
October 19, 2012

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl today signed a compact pledging his support for national immigration reform, saying it would help to make Pittsburgh a more diverse and successful city.

Mr. Ravenstahl signed the Partnership for a New American Economy, an effort led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, during a ceremony at the August Wilson Center for African-American Culture, Downtown,

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Norquist: More Immigrants Good Policy, Politics

National Journal
October 18, 2012

Anti-tax crusader advocates immigration reform with path to citizenship for nation's undocumented immigrants.

At an immigration summit in Indiana, Norquist called immigration “the most important thing to focus on if you’re concerned with the future of the country, both as an economic power and as the serious a leader of the free world," and he suggested that illegal immigrants now living in the country should be allowed to stay if they pay a fine.

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How to Reduce America's Talent Deficit

Wall Street Journal
October 18, 2012

Each month, when the government publishes the national jobs report, Americans pick over small movements in the headline rate of unemployment. In doing so, they largely miss a crucial aspect of the U.S. jobs crisis.

Many American companies are now creating more jobs for which they can't find qualified applicants than jobs for which they can. Thus the economy faces a paradox: Too many Americans can't find jobs, yet too many companies can't fill open positions. There are too few Americans with the necessary science, technology, engineering and math skills to meet companies' demand.

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Study Shows Immigration May Boost St. Louis Economy

St. Louis Public Radio
October 17, 2012

A Saint Louis University economist thinks he has found a key to growth for St. Louis.

Professor Jack Strauss presented his findings this afternoon from an economic study that shows a direct correlation between an increasing immigrant population and economic growth. The study was originally released in June.

He says he thinks it is likely that the city’s economic slump is partly due to a dwindling number of immigrants living in the area. Four and a half percent of St. Louis’ population is foreign. In other large cities, that number is closer to 18 percent.

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Opinion: Skilled Immigrants Are Uptapped Assets for Regional Economic Development

National Journal
October 17, 2012

What do Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Dayton, Ohio, have in common? Each of these cities has endured decades of shrinking population—and each has recently identified skilled immigrants as a vital component of a healthy economy. Their economic-development agendas recognize that attracting and retaining talented newcomers is an important part of regional economic success.

As director of the national nonprofit IMPRINT, a coalition focusing on skilled-immigrant integration, I’m fortunate enough to be engaged with a number of such municipal initiatives. Their budding efforts hold intriguing promise for other cities.

It’s important to note that these efforts aren’t simply about recruiting raw numbers of newcomers. Policymakers must have a developed strategy for whom they plan to attract and integrate, as well as why and how it should be done.

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Join the Effort

Partnership for a New American Economy

Media Center

Enact Rational Immigration Policies

U.S. Immigration Choice: Education vs. Diversity, or Both?

Immigration Reform is Good for Business

Immigration and American Jobs

Ravenstahl Joins Other Mayors in Call for Immigration Reform

Ravenstahl Supports National Immigration Reform

Norquist: More Immigrants Good Policy, Politics

How to Reduce America's Talent Deficit

Study Shows Immigration May Boost St. Louis Economy

Opinion: Skilled Immigrants Are Uptapped Assets for Regional Economic Development