Has Our 'New Colossus' Shattered Like Rhodes?

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me"

Thus began Emma Lazarus's poem that is etched on the base of the Statue of Liberty. There was a time, for a very long time, that the United States was the country who opened her arms to those who wanted something more in their life. There was opportunity, world-renown education, medical care, the American Dream was possible for anyone who was hard working and honest. Immigrants made this country, from the time we get up in the morning, until we go to bed, our lives are touched by immigrants. We brush our teeth with Colgate toothpaste, thanks to William Colgate who immigrated from England. We might have Sara Lee bagels or coffee cake thanks to Nathan Cummings who immigrated from Canada. We turn on our computers and Google for information thanks to Sergey Brin who came to the U.S. from Russia or we buy something on EBay because Pierre Omidyar came her from France. Communications in this country go all the way back to Alexander Graham Bell who came from Scotland and your clothing could be thanks to John W. Nordstrom (Nordstrom's) from Sweden or Maxwell Kohl (Kohl's) from Poland. If you have a headache and take Advil, thanks to Charles Pfizer and Charles Ernhart (Pfizer Pharmaceuticals) from Germany. You can eat Kraft Mac & Cheese, thanks to James L. Kraft (Kraft Food) out of Canada and clean up the mess thanks to William Proctor (England) and James Gamble (Ireland). Immigrants bring us Radio Shack, Big Lots, Yahoo, Goldman Sachs and Comcast, to name but a few.

The impact immigrants have had on our country is, in a very real way, some of the most positive we have had in our country since the Great Recession. Did you know:

• Immigrants were almost twice as likely to start businesses in 2012 as native-born Americans.

• 27.1 percent of new entrepreneurs in 2012 were immigrants, which is up from 13.7 percent in 1996.

• About one-quarter of the engineering and technology companies started in the United States between 2006–2012 had at least one key founder who was an immigrant.

• Immigrant founded engineering and technology firms employed approximately 560,000 workers and generated $63 billion in sales in 2012.

• 24 of the top 50 venture-backed companies in America in 2011 had at least one foreign-born founder

• Immigrant founders from top venture-backed firms have created an average of approximately 150 jobs per company in the United States.*

There has been much press against immigrants. Today's immigrant is portrayed as a lazy, free-loading gangster who wants the opportunity to 'steal' our food, education and medical care while selling drugs and killing people. The truth is, immigrants are hard working people, these people have worked in our fields for minimal pay, have payed exorbitant money to the unscrupulous to get them into a country that shuns them. Immigrants work hard in school, they are grateful for the chance to learn. Immigrants work diligently, they strive to succeed. Immigrants appreciate what our country has to offer in a way that many natural-born Americans have forgotten. We should welcome immigrants and all they have to offer with open arms.

*Kauffman Foundation research

#immigrants #jobs #education