Immigrants Driving the Revival of American Manufacturing?

September 21st, 2010

Last week, immigrant-founded company, A123  Systems, headquarted outside Boston, opened an electric car battery-production plant in Livonia, Michigan, that is slated to create 3,000 jobs over the next three years. 

Congrats to Desh Desphande (immigrant from India), Yet-Ming Chiang (immigrant from Taiwan), and Ric Fulop (immigrant from Venezuela), the extraordinary founders of the company —- Immigrant Americans creating jobs for Americans.

The story behind A123 Systems is fascinating, as are the struggles and triumphs of its Immigrant-American founders.

A123 Systems was featured in the book, “Immigrant, Inc. — Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy (and how they will save the American worker)” (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).

As outlined in the book, America’s immigration system is antiquated and bears little connection to our country’s needs to innovate, create startups, attract foreign direct investment, and ramp-up exports in a hyper-competitive global economy. 

Our current immigration dinosaur system was built for the 1950s — not for the first decade of the 21st century.

As the country puts out the unwelcome sign to immigrants — both lower skilled and high skilled — America is falling further and further behind in the race to invent and commercialize new technologies to invent new products, to turbocharge high-end manufacuturing, and to sell overseas.

Immigrant innovators and entrepreneur are increasingly leaving the U.S. , in part due to immigration barriers, and in part to pursue new opportunities in their homeland — or in third countries that are recruiting them (like Canada, Singapore, Australia, Russia, Chile, etc.)

Consider America’s secret weapon:   immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators.

As outlined in “Immigrant, Inc.,” studies by researcher/entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa found that 25% of the technology and engineering companies started between 1995 and 2005 had an immigrant founder.

To the surprise of some in the Rust Belt, Michigan enjoyed a higher percentage of immigrant entrepreneurship than the average throughout the country.

In Michigan, 33% of the tech companies fromed from 1995 to 2005 had an immigrant founder. 

In my home state, Ohio, only 14% of the tech companies during that period had an immigrant founder (while the number jumps to 50% in Silicon Valley).

Compared to people like me (American-born), immigrants are more likely to start a business, invent something, earn an advanced degree, and have intimate knowledge of global markets.

As A123 Systems reminds us —- shouldn’t  America be leveraging our immigrant advantge to jumpstart our manufacturing, create new jobs, and new industries — for Americans.

Here’s to hoping that President Obama and GOP leadership can come together and tell this story to the American people —- not the stories that we usually hear on immigration reform.

Now, let’s not forget about how how immigration reform could turbocharge our economy and create jobs and new industries for America — let’s not be consumed in talk about Arizona, 14th amendment repeal, and all the other distractions from the real immigration reform issues.

Let’s extend our congratulations to Desh and the co-founders of A123 Systems, and welcome other immigrants who are in a great position to help drive America’s push for energy independence and clean technology — and create the millions of new blue and white collar jobs that will come with it.

A123 Sytems  seems to have found a nice home for production — in Michigan.

Immigrants from around the country, and from around the world, are discovering the benefits of doing business in Michigan.

While we wait for the country to embrace its immigrant heritage and immigrant advantage in the global economy, the question I will leave you with is:

Is your state immigrant-friendly?

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Playing to Win in the Global Economy?

September 21st, 2010

From Gary Baney, CEO of Boundless Flight:

“Some in Ohio may think this is healthy leadership, but if it makes Ohio technical companies less globally competitive in the long run, the consequences may not be what they expect! ”
____________________

Thanks, Gary for sharing this and this article, “Ohio Takes the Lead in Offshoring Fight,” from Computerworld magazine about outsourcing, H1B visas, and the path that Ohio leadership is taking on putting up barriers to global business.

This article prompts me to ask, “Does Ohio (and America) really want to compete and win in the global economy?”

Or does it want to put up more barriers — and withdraw from the game?

Throughout America’s history, isolationist policies have never made our economy stronger.

Now more than ever, where capital and high-end innovation and entrepreneurial talent can move more easily over borders, where 95% of the world’s consumers live OUTSIDE the U.S., and when the U.S. has a unique opportunity to attract more foreign direct investment —- all potentially leveraged to jumpstart manufacturing and job-creation in the U.S. —- the U.S. has to play the global game to win.

Instead of aggressive global economic engagement — we are playing “not to lose,” protecting our dwindling lead, and losing ground.

Let’s buck-up, go all-in in the global economy game, and compete to win. Be bold, not fearful.

Our economic policy should take lesson or two from our professional sports franchises (no, not the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, and btw, where is LeBron?).

We don’t seem to mind it much when immigrants take the jobs of American born athletes in the NBA, MLB, or NHL — where foreign born players make up 20%, 30% and 80% of the league, respectively.

Why are we not marching in the streets against this “outsourcing” of jobs to immigrant athletes?

Because Ameria wants to win —- on the court, on the field, on the ice.

We understand that to win we have to build the most powerful teams on the planet — and that means recruiting talent regardless of where it resides, what passport it holds, what language it speaks….

It means recruiting not only within a country of 300 million —- but in the market of billions of people.

Building the most powerful innovation and entrepreneurial teams should be America’s mantra on the field of the global economy.

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Does the Rust Belt Want Immigrants? You Bet!

September 9th, 2010

The following is a reprint of my e-newsletter:  

GLOBAL CLEVELAND NEWS, 9/2010

Rebooting Cleveland’s economy will require a global outlook and a commitment to attract foreign capital, to welcome immigrant entrepreneurs and high-skill talent, and to ramp-up our exports.

This is not a silver bullet, but an indispensible tool to survival and growth in the New Economy.

Building new intercultural business alliances, both at home and abroad, will help the region more clearly see the benefits of a globalization strategy.

Because of the future opportunities for our children in a global marketplace, a global outlook must also be fostered at home —– built around early-childhood foreign language programs, study abroad programs, and intercultural arts.

A prosperous, globally-connected, cosmopolitan community is within our reach.

But we must change.

In the political realm, we are witnessing a sea-change not only in the reform of Cuyahoga County government structure, but also in the way that elected officials and political candidates have begun embracing immigrants as a way to attract investment and create jobs in the region.

Here are the new economic development policies by the winners of the primary election for Cuyahoga County Executive:

THE CANDIDATES

a.) Matt Dolan, Republican Candidate for Executive, Cuyahoga County

From Dolan’s New Economic Plan:
“Create a Welcome Center for immigrants to serve as a symbol of encouragement, assist with language barriers and help new immigrants integrate successfully into the County’s workforce by connecting them with training and education opportunities.

 Work directly with universities and through the Welcome Center to recruit from the international pool of skilled, creative class labor and retain talented students that come from abroad to seek higher education in our County.”
http://www.electmattdolan.com/plan/economic_development.html

b.) Ed Fitzgerald, Democratic Candidate for Executive, Cuyahoga County

From Fitzgerald’s New Economic Plan:     “Embrace immigration as an opportunity to grow our population economy Most periods of this nation’s economic growth were fueled by the contributions of new Americans. Our next period of growth should be no different: the authors of Immigrant, Inc. posit that immigrants are twice as likely to start a new business as non-immigrants. Put plainly, embracing immigration through simple means such as Welcome Houses and multilingual capacity at the county can make great strides for people to have no other option but to succeed. FitzGerald will make sure that embracing a growing immigrant economy is part the county’s economic development strategy.”

http://edfitzgerald.org/Jobs.pdf

 

* * * * * * * *

A shared civic vision is emerging.

Business, government, philanthropic, civic and grassroots leaders are joining forces to create an International Welcome Center.

Here are the exciting developments (and a link to a study conducted by the Jewish Federation of Cleveland) (and a link to similar initiative, Global Detroit):

INTERNATIONAL WELCOME CENTER (GLOBAL CLEVELAND)

a.) Cleveland International Welcome Center Plans Under Way, Sept 2, 2010, Plain Dealer

“CLEVELAND, Ohio — A proposed Cleveland international welcome center is attracting prominent and influential supporters. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said he will join a blue ribbon committee charged with designing the center and outlining efforts to attract immigrants to Northeast Ohio…. immigrants are an essential part of the mix, Jackson said, and he sees a need to extend a welcome to people who might move here from foreign nations to study or to open a business or to start a new life.

“If we’re to be fully competitive, this welcome center, in my opinion, is something we have to have,” Jackson said.

Championed for years by grassroots groups, the center became a viable idea in January, when the Jewish Federation of Cleveland made it a priority project. Federation president Stephen Hoffman recently tapped Baiju Shah, the CEO of BioEnterprise, to recruit civic leaders to move the idea forward.
At a meeting at the high-tech incubator last week, an executive advisory committee took shape. It includes representatives of the region’s leading foundations, the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, as well as the NAACP and the Hispanic Roundtable.

The committee features some new and emerging leaders, like Daniel Walsh, the new regional president of Huntington Bank; and Patsy Bilbo Berkman, the Cuban-American wife of Ronald Berkman, the first-year president of Cleveland State University.

“It’s an exciting group. It’s a diverse group,” said Shah. “It represents a lot of different stakeholders in our community.” The committee is to begin meeting next week to establish goals and strategies for the center, with the aim of launching inaugural programs by January.
“There’s a broad mix of civic leadership involved in the process now,” Shah said. “More than anything, that sends an optimistic signal that this effort will result in action.”"

b.) Plans to Welcome Immigrants Takes Another Step Forward, Cleveland Plain Dealer,” August 3, 2010

“CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cleveland international welcome center will take a broad view of the meaning of “immigrant” as it seeks to attract new talent to Northeast Ohio.

The people sketching out a vision for the center say it will target anyone with the skills or resources to boost the local economy. That could mean a person from another country, from another state, or from another part of Ohio.
The consensus emerged from the inaugural meeting of the welcome center’s executive committee, which gathered Aug. 26 on the newly opened observation deck of the Terminal Tower.

The host, Albert Ratner of Forest City Enterprises, congratulated the assembled civic, political and business leaders for being part of an historic moment.

Grassroots groups have for years urged regional leaders to get behind immigrant attraction strategies, the kind that helped other cities advance in the New Economy.

The first strategy session indicated the idea has finally found local traction. It drew top executives from Sherwin-Williams, the Cleveland Clinic and Huntington National Bank, as well as leaders from Cleveland City Hall, the NAACP and the Cleveland Foundation.

“There was a lot of enthusiasm around the room,” said Baiju Shah, the committee’s chairman. “I told them, ‘We’re in a sprint now.’ ”
Shah wants the committee to agree on goals and strategies by early November so that an action plan can be in place Jan. 1.

“We can’t let this city die anymore,” said committee member Stanley Miller, executive director of the Cleveland NAACP. “We have to bring in the best and brightest, but they can come from anywhere.”

Welcoming job creators: While the welcome center will embrace all, a study lead by Duke University researcher Vivek Wadwha explains the keen interest in high-skill immigrants.

His research team found that well-educated immigrants started a disproportionate share of America’s engineering and high-tech companies, even in low-immigration states like Ohio.

While immigrants make up only 3 percent of Ohio, they created nearly 15 percent of the state’s high-tech companies. Take a look at the report, “Skilled Immigration and Economic Growth.”

c.) While not directly related to the International Welcome Center, I thought this op-ed hit some great notes on building an intercultural, cosmopolitan city that welcomes all.

Finding Strength With Open Minds, by Reverend Jawanza Karriem Colvin, September 6, 2010 

“Last week’s reports on the arrest, detention and alleged beating of two African-American corporate executives in the Warehouse District are disturbing, but unfortunately not surprising. The Warehouse District, a section of the city that at its best should reflect the trendy, cosmopolitan character of Cleveland, is gaining a reputation for racial insensitivity.

Coupled with the shocking allegations of police misconduct, this incident only complicates attempts to successfully market the city and the region to aspiring young professionals. As we know, the recruitment of this population is an important part of fulfilling any hopes of regional prosperity, which can positively impact the quality of life for our communities and neighborhoods.

The arrival of bright, vibrant and energetic persons seeking to begin their careers with the prospect of eventually settling down, starting families and making civic contributions is an increasing reality for some American cities and an urban planner’s dream in others. Today, growing and emerging regions recognize that this is a population they simply cannot do without. They also recognize this is a demographic that is increasingly diverse in race, culture and place of origin.

As a result, the message is clear: Tolerating intolerance is self-defeating.

If Cleveland and Northeast Ohio are going to attract a new generation of talent, they must — along with reimagining the local economy — continue to nurture an inclusive and open environment across racial, cultural and geographical lines. Historically, such lines, instead of being points of meeting for healthy discourse on our commonalities and differences, have become intersections of ignorance and discrimination.

As this region wrestles to find its 21st-century political and economic identity, it must expend similar intellectual and soul-searching capital to frame a new cultural one. It must do so or risk lagging behind in a competitive global marketplace where the talent pool is multiracial, multicultural and more tolerant of differences than previous generations.

How do we accomplish this?

There are no quick formulas or magic potions for changing hearts and minds, nor are there assurances that the embracing of inclusion in our personal lives will translate into more progressive policies and practices, or vice versa. However, there is an opportunity and a challenge.

The opportunity at this moment is to celebrate the growing diversity of our region and to continue to increase such efforts in defiance of the pockets of prejudice that still remain in sectors of the public, private and commercial arenas.

The challenge is to summon the courage to confront our deeply embedded historical, cultural and institutional “isms,” which can manifest themselves in the form of glass ceilings, abuses of power and violations of the most basic civil and human rights. W.E.B. Dubois, the famed African-American sociologist, asserted that the greatest issue of the 20th century would be the color line. It is a new century but, sadly, we have still not solved this old, vexing problem of race and difference; and while some pray for it to simply go away, the future will not wait for us. As a matter of fact, it’s time to catch up.

Colvin is the pastor of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland.

* * * **

TiE Ohio’s International Entrepreneur Awards Gala

Want inspiration to become an entrepreneur, or to be a better entrepreneur in the global age?

There are hundreds of fascinating, inspiring, and UNTOLD stories of today’s immigrants in Northeast Ohio creating cool companies that might just change the world —- or at least transform a small corner of it in a sleepy Cleveland neighborhood.

To hear a few of these amazing stories, and to celebrate Northeast Ohio’s international entrepreneurs, please make your reservation now to attend TiE Ohio’s First Annual International Awards Gala, September 21st, 5:30 pm, Windows on the River, Cleveland

http://www.tieohio.org/index.php?view=detail&catid=1%3Atie-ohio-events&id=13%3Atie-ohio-international-entrepreneur-award&option=com_simplecalendar&Itemid=4

On September 21st, in partnership with Inside Business magazine, TiE Ohio will announce and honor the recipients of the following awards:

Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year

International Entrepreneur of the Year

Foreign Direct Investment of the Year

Ohio International Business of the Year

To see a list of the finalists, please see attached.

Entrepreneurial Superstar Monte Ahuja, founder of Transtar industries, a global auto parts distributor with over $500 million in sales, will deliver the Keynote Address. Monte started his company using a business plan that he developed for a student project while getting his MBA at Cleveland State University in the 1970s.

TiE Ohio will also bestow the TiE Ohio Community Catlalyst Award to Maria Pujana (physician/jewelry designer/entrepreneur at Saks Fifth Avenue, first Hispanic on board of Cleveland Foundation) & Alan Schonberg(founder of Management Recruiters International, and one of founders of Global Cleveland, Ohio Israeli Chamber of Commerce).

TiE Ohio (The International Entrepreneur) is a non-profit business association dedicated to mentoring, connecting, and educating immigrant and internationally-minded entrepreneurs in Ohio. www.tieohio.org

Don’t miss out — make your reservations now by registering on-line at the TiE Ohio website, or by contacting Reka Barabas, Executive Director of TiE Ohio, at
(216) 929-0677 or tie.ohio@ohio.tie.org.

Economic Development Quarterly

The current edition of Economic Development Quarterly contains a book review of Immigrant, Inc. —- Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy (and how they will save the American worker) (John WIley & Sons)

Chad Miller, economic development and globalization expert, writes:

“Herman and Smith claim that immigrants love and respect America and want to do what is best for the country….

Because the United States is able to attract the world’s best and brightest, who bring a culture of entrepreneurship and a passion for the American dream, Herman and Smith promote immigrant-based economic development.

They argue that the economy is knowledge based and global. Risk taking, hard work, and preparation are essential for success in this highly
competitive environment.

From their perspective, growth is based on disruption of the status quo through innovation and entrepreneurship.

Disruptions create opportunities that lead to broad-based economic development. Immigrants are better able than those who have always lived within the system
to identify these opportunities.

To continue to be prosperous in this environment, America needs to rediscover its protestant work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit.

Immigrants, particularly high-skilled immigrants, can provide the inspiration and technical skills needed for America to work harder and smarter and be more driven.

Much of Immigrant, Inc. is dedicated to factoids and stories about recent successful emigrants who have followed the American rags-to-riches dream. The authors’ supporting evidence includes the fact that immigrants helped start 25% of new tech companies nationally, with 39% in California and 38% in New Jersey. They discuss not only how half of the tech companies in Silicon Valley (e.g., Google, eBay, Intel, Yahoo, PayPal, and Sun Microsystems) have an immigrant founder, but also how immigrants have started non-tech entrepreneurial ventures such as nail salons and hotels.

These immigrant entrepreneurs have developed mutually beneficial partnerships with established Americans and both groups are better off for the relationship.

Economic developers have begun to realize the opportunities created by these immigrants and have started immigrant-based economic development efforts such as the Office of New Bostonians, Global Detroit, Welcoming Center of New Pennsylvanians, and Schenectady’s program to target Guyanese to blighted areas.

…books provides actionable insights for local economic development. First is the need for economic developers to understand how their economy operates.

Will immigrants compete for existing jobs in the community or create them?

Perhaps more important, economic developers need to find ways to productively engage immigrants in the local economy.

Even though immigrants might have dual-citizenship and a transnational lifestyle, ways need to be explored for them to develop loyalty and concern for their new communities.

They should want to create jobs not just for business reasons but also for personal reasons because they have a connection to their new home in America.

For example, because most high-skilled immigrants arrive for educational purposes, communities with universities should encourage immigrants, whose education they subsidized, to become part of the community and create jobs. Programs to help immigrants can be politically sensitive, but if these kinds of efforts are not made, human capital potential is missed while national immigration policy is being debated.”
http://edq.sagepub.com/content/24/3/304.full.pdf+html

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To my  friends of the Jewish faith, L’Shana Tovah, Happy New Year!

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Without Dreamers, the Rust Belt Is Doomed

August 27th, 2010

A follow-up thought to my earlier post regarding yesterday’s orientation for international students at Cuyahoga Community College based in Cleveland.

It was interesting to watch the faces of the intl students as I told them “thank you” for choosing America as the place to pursue higher education. And a bigger “thank you” for choosing Cleveland.

I saw a lot of… beaming smiles as I told them that their current and future contributions to the local economy were indeed very important. For example, in Northeast Ohio, 6,000 intl students pump in over $120,000,000 per year in just tuitino and living expenses. In Ohio, over 20,000 international students pump in over half of a billion dollars to the state’s economy per year.

The Great Lakes region is actually a major player in attracting international students: 208,000 intl students contributing $5.8 billion to the region’s economy per year. Nearly 1/3 of the nation’s 671,000 intl students study in the Great Lakes States.

New York state is the second most prolific magnet for intl students in country. Other great lakes states rankings in attracting intl students:

Illinois: 6th
Pennsylvania: 7th
Michigan: 8th
Ohio: 9th

Young, talented, driven people. Who would say “no” to them?

Perhaps i missed the mark in my last post in emphasizing their financial, innovation and entreprenerial dividends.

On second thought, maybe the most important asset they bring to communities like the rust belt is their aspirations.

As our friend Joel Kotkin writes, aspirational cities serve as magnets for those who expect to achieve their dreams in their new destination.

Dreamers see a better tomorrow.

Without dreamers, the rust belt is doomed

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International Students Are Gold to Your Community

August 27th, 2010

I had a great time yesterday welcoming the incoming class of international students at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.

I reminded the international students that they are GOLD to the colleges and communities that welcome them.

Unfortunately, many cities and states around the U.S. are unaware of the economic impac…t that international students bring to their community — and don’t do a good job in welcoming, conneting and integrating these international newcomers.

Yesterday we discussed the recent study that found that the number of international students studying in the U.S. is at its highest peak ever, over 670,000. These students and their dependents contribute over $17 billion per annum to the U.S. economy in tuition and living expenses.

More important, however, is the economic impact these global wunderkinds bring to their communities after they graduate —- in terms of innovation, entrepreneurship, advanced degrees, and global cultural and language skills.

Studies show:

* internationals are receiving U.S. patents at a 2:1 ratio compared to American-born.

* immigrants are starting businesses at nearly twice the rate of American-born.

* immigrants are more likely to have an advanced degree compared to American born (nearly 70% of the people who entered the fields of science and engineering from 1995 to 2006 were immigrants);

* over 50% of the companies in Silicon Valley were founded by an immigrant (25% of the tech companies nationwide)

* from 1990-2005, immigrants founded 1/4 of all venture-backed public companies (add a high tech label, and the percentage jumps to 40%)

Think of the New Economy rock star entrepreneurs and you’ll see immigrants everywhere: Sergey Brin (Google), Pierre Omidyar (eBay), Elon Musk (PayPal, Tesla Motors), Jerry Yang (Yahoo), Andy Grove (Intel), Vinod Khosla (Sun Microsytem), and the founders of companies like YouTube, LinkedIn, and many others.

This is not a new phenomenon — think of the immigrants who founded Dow Chemical, DuPont, Procter & Gamble, U.S. Steel (Carnegie Steel), Pfizer, and many other icons of American capitalism.

Millions of American jobs have been created by immigrants —- and many of these immigrant entrepreneurs first came to the U.S. to study at an American university. Over half ot the country’s immigrant tech entrepreneurs came to the U.S. to study at an American university

American universities are the magnet for the world’s best, brightest, and most entrepreneurial.

As our economy continues to struggle, let’s not forget this competitive advantage and do more to leverage it.

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Helping Immigrant Entrepreneurs Flourish

August 27th, 2010

I live in and love Cleveland — a once-great city that was part of the “silicon valley” of the late-18th/early-19th century industrial revolution.

Having just returned from Vancouver and Seattle, I reflected on what it takes for cities to be competitive, prosperous and vibrant in the 21st century.

100 years ago, the… rust belt cities of Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh led the world in industrial patents and the creation of game-changing companies. This is the land of Carnegie, Ford, Rockefeller, Firestone, Dow, and many other entrepreneurs who helped change the world.

Immigrants played a key role in the economic success of the Great Lakes region at the dawn of the 20th century.

Cities like Cleveland attracted folks from all over the world at that time —- 30% of the 1,000,000 population was foreign-born. Today, only about 5% of Cleveland’s population comes from abroad —- and the overall population has dropped below 400,000.

The exodus of people has been accompanied by a decline in innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit. Not good timing, as countries like China and India move-up on the value chain of a knowledge-based economy — in countries where acquisition of advanced education is a contact sport. (Only 6% of Greater Cleveland’s population holds an advanced degree, 5% in Detroit, and 20% in Seattle.)

The rust belt region needs to reboot.

To create its New Economy, it will need an army of entrepreneurs and innovators, ready to compete globally.

The only way to quickly build this army is by recruiting and attracting American migrants and immigrants. The low hanging fruit is to attract immigrants—- to lay out the welcome mat for those who are predisposed to pick-up and move, to take risks, and to endure the pain inherent in the pursuit of opportunity in the challenging frontier.

Back to Canada.

In Vancouver, 40% of the population is foreign born.

Toronto, a five hour drive from Cleveland, is similarly immigrant-rch, with over 50% of its population born abroad.

To offer just a peek at how Canada does such a good job at the federal and local level to encourage and welcome immigrant newcomers, check this out.

The Hamilton Chamber of Commrece in Ontario, Canada, is leading an new exciting initiative called “Diversity Works” — a program that is designed to:

a.) increase the capacity of local companies to recruit and hire foreign born talent

b.) mentor immigrant entrepreneurs

As reported in this article, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce president Richard Koroscil said recently:

“‘It’s a well-known fact that in coming years Hamilton will be seeing a shortage of skilled workers and we’re going to rely on immigration to fill those gaps,’” he said.

Studies by agencies such as the Conference Board of Canada support that view of the future, warning at current birth and retirement rates, by 2030 Canada will not be able to fill 500,000 jobs.

In the closer future, by 2017 it’s expected the majority of new jobs in Canada will be filled by immigrants.Ontario Citizenship Minister Eric Hoskins said those forces create a special challenge for Ontario.

“Immigration and the highly skilled workforce that will develop because of that is an economic imperative,” he said. “We can’t allow the challenges of integrating newcomers to stop us.”

The Diversity Works program is designed to help this problem in two ways.

One stream will provide recruitment and human resources support to employers, especially small businesses, looking to hire skilled immigrants. It’s hoped 200 local firms will benefit from that help.

The second stream will link newcomer entrepreneurs with Canadian mentors who will help them get started.The program will launch at the end of this month with 15 mentor-mentee pairs, including Kaleu and area businessman James Radcliffe, of SCS Machine Services. It’s a match Kaleu hopes will give him a chance to start manufacturing his ecological tools by linking his company name with an established player.

Diversity Works is financed by the federal and provincial governments. Other sponsors include Settlement and Integration Services Organization, Mohawk College, McMaster University’s DeGroote business school, the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, the city, John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, Volunteer Hamilton, the Hamilton Training Advisory Board and Scotiabank Group.

The initiative is one part of a broader Hamilton Immigration Strategy and Action Plan aimed at helping newcomers fit in to their new country by strengthening settlement services, employment aid, encouraging foreign credential recognition and other aid.”

Canada has done a great job in averting much of most serious fall-out from the global financial crisis. It has done a similarly great job in promoting a welcoming culture for immigrant talent (60% of the 250,000 Canadian “green cards” issued each year go to skilled immigrants; compare that with the U.S. where less than 15% of the 1,000,000 green cards issued each year are reserved for skilled immigrants).

Despite the popular phrase heard in Canada, “No Worries,” its clear that Canada has been worrying and working hard to build an infrastructure that emphasizes TALENT, regardless of accent or passport, as the key to success in in the global economy.

I hope that the lessons from our neighbors to the North will not be lost on the rust belt and the White House.

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Time for President Obama to Use Executive Authority to Resolve Chaos

August 3rd, 2010

His crime —- walking while “looking Hispanic.”

Trusting local police to enforce federal immigration law is a recipe for disaster and racial profiling.

While Arizona has been getting all the ink, there are 20 other states seriously looking at enacting similar state-based immigration law. The U.S. Federal District Court’s partial grant… of U.S. Department of Justice’s motion for injunction is only a temporary measure. Final court resolution of the Arizona law will not likely be reached until the Supreme Court is asked to weigh-in—- which will likely take the case well into 2011.

The prospect of a patchwork of separate laws across the country dealing with purely federal matters such as immigration is preempted by the Constitution.

The states’ act of desperation is a reflection of the failure of Congress to deal in good faith on immigration reform.

Surely, no matter what happens with the Arizona law, other states will look to pass other versions of their own law — each prepared to challenge the federal government.

In other words — chaos.

A union divided.

The President should not wait any longer for Congress to act on immigration reform.

After so many years have passed with Congressional inaction, it has waived its argument that action must be taken only through Congressional legislation.

National interests demand that President use his executive authority and utilize “parole” power to offer a temporary legal status to those who meet certain criteria — such as paying any back taxes, proof of residing in the U.S. for five years, etc.

Not a green card. Not amnesty. But a temporary status that could provide some the potential future opportunity to adjust to permanent residency (e.g., if they are married to a U.S. citizen

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Obama’s National Security Strategy Acknowledges the Contributions of Immigrants

August 3rd, 2010

The foundation of any country’s national security is its economy.

With a weakening economy in the U.S, particularly while the economies of China and India continue to grow, America’s national security is at risk.

As Edward Alden, a Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations writes,
…
“The engine of that economic growth is innovation, the capacity of Americans to be the first to invent, design and reap the profits from the next generation of technologies that will transform the way we live. As President Obama put it in his introduction to the strategy paper: “Simply put, we must see American innovation as a foundation of American power.”

That’s where immigration comes in.

In his “National Security Strategy” recently delivered to Congress, President Obama makes the argument that the strength of America’s economy (and by extension, its national security) depends in no small measure on America’s ability to act as a magnet for the world’s innovators, entrepreneurs, and highly-skilled talent.

Alden writes,

“The National Security Strategy (NSS), which is sent to Congress every four years, is designed to lay out in broad terms the administration’s philosophy on what is needed to protect the vital interests of the United States. It generally focuses on short and long-term military and other security threats. The most famous NSS, which was released by the Bush administration in 2002, created the rationale for the subsequent invasion of Iraq by stating that the United States would act to pre-empt potential security threats.

That’s the only way in which immigration has ever figured in previous administration strategy papers – as a threat. Most have made some passing reference to the need to control illegal immigration. The Clinton administration’s first strategy paper also warned that American openness to immigration raised the danger of economic espionage. The Bush NSS of 2002 was entirely silent on the issue.

But the Obama administration’s strategy shows a deeper understanding of the contribution of immigrants to America’s national security. The paper, for the first time, places immigration reform in the broader context of U.S. national interests. It starts with an obvious but all too often overlooked point: that America’s economy is the foundation of its national security. The United States will be unable to meet its security and political commitments around the world unless the economy recovers and grows more strongly in the future.

The engine of that economic growth is innovation, the capacity of Americans to be the first to invent, design and reap the profits from the next generation of technologies that will transform the way we live. As President Obama put it in his introduction to the strategy paper: “Simply put, we must see American innovation as a foundation of American power.”

That’s where immigration fits in. The United States has been alone among the world’s big powers in its ability to attract and retain the most talented immigrants from across the world, and it has been a remarkable windfall. Some 45 percent of the nation’s science and engineering Ph.D.s, and 65 percent of its computer science doctorates, are earned by students who were born abroad. America easily leads the world in the number of patents issued each year, and a quarter of those go to immigrant scientists and inventors, a hugely disproportionate number.

The Obama strategy, while hardly sanguine about the many economic challenges facing the United States, explicitly recognizes the strengths that come from such diversity. Immigration, the paper argues, must be part of the overall American strategy for strengthening its human capital. Improved schools, better science and math training, increased international education and exchange, and the reform of immigration laws are all part of a strategy to “ensure that the most innovative ideas take root in America.”

“Our ability to innovate, our ties to the world, and our economic prosperity depend on our nation’s capacity to welcome and assimilate immigrants,” the paper says.”

http://newamericamedia.org/2010/05/obamas-national-security-strategy-could-upend-immigration-debate.php

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On a related note, I have co-written a paper on how a new immigration system could accelerate the American path to energy independence and greater national security by welcoming more of the world’s top energy scientists and researchers.

Many good proposals on fixing immigration to turbocharge America’s economy have been offered.

Congress, however, continues to play politics over sound policy and national interests.

For decades, Congress has declined to craft an immigration system that makes the American economy stronger.

While we wait for Congress to do its job on immigration reform, the American economy continues to sputter, Asian and oil-producing economies continue to strengthen, and the interests of national security take a back seat.

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The Immigration Solution to Job Growth: Quick & Cheap

August 3rd, 2010

by Richard T. Herman and Robert L. Smith

Special to AOL News (Aug. 3) –

Some people need a new job. Some people need any job. The question being asked across America these days goes something like, “Where will the new jobs come from?”

Will they come from big corporations? From the government? Will they fall from the sky?

Some people seem to think so. How else to explain their reluctance to embrace the most powerful economic stimulus of the era — immigration.

The fact is, new jobs in the new economy are powered by startups — businesses started by entrepreneurs. And much of the entrepreneurial fuel in this country comes from immigrants.

According to a recent study by the Kauffman Foundation, nearly all net job growth in America from 1980 to 2005 came from companies less than 5 years old. That’s an astonishing and powerful statistic.

When people envision major employers, many still think of huge companies and their factories, banks and law firms and retail chains. How many think of a small business with a marketable idea and an owner with zeal?

In the 25-year span studied by the Kauffman Foundation, new companies created 40 million new jobs. And here’s the sobering observation: “That means the established firms created no new net jobs during that period,” Robert Litan, the foundation’s research director, reported to a U.S. congressional committee in June.

A quick and cheap way to kick-start the entrepreneurial engine: Welcome skilled immigrants to town.

In researching our book, “Immigrant Inc.,” we were struck by the fact that where immigrants settled, economies bloomed. Where immigrants were absent, little happened.

Immigrants today, like immigrants of old, tend to be strivers and dreamers. Add to that an advanced degree in science or engineering, which many of them possess, and wonders happen.

Compared with native-born citizens, America’s immigrants are nearly twice as likely to start a company and twice as likely to be awarded a U.S. patent. They are probably the most prolific entrepreneurs on the planet.

Nowhere is the power of immigrant entrepreneurs more obvious than in technology clusters. High-skilled, entrepreneurial immigrants founded or co-founded more than half of the high-tech companies in Silicon Valley and about a quarter of the biotech companies in New England.

“Silicon Valley is full of immigrants,” said Peter Rea, director of the Center for Innovation and Growth at Baldwin-Wallace College in suburban Cleveland. “They are much more likely to start and grow companies.”

Sadly, consumed by the national argument over illegal immigrants, many communities are actually discouraging immigration.

One Ohio lawmaker is proposing an Arizona-like immigration law in his struggling state, never mind that Ohio has one of the lowest immigrant populations — legal and illegal — in America.

And while a few visionaries like Rea call for attracting immigrants, many civic leaders avoid the controversial “I” word. They instead tout vague and long-term strategies like investing in education. Meantime, those seeking jobs and opportunity can only look skyward and see what falls from heaven.

But immigrants today, unlike immigrants of old, often go where they feel welcome, not just where the jobs are. Some communities are catching on.

For example, civic and political leaders in southeastern Michigan are getting behind Global Detroit, a multifaceted marketing effort to revive the Motor City by attracting a new wave of international talent and investment.

And Cleveland, led by its Jewish community, is planning an international welcome center, which would sell the region to immigrants and offer the kinds of guidance that might entice them to settle.

Immigrant entrepreneur associations, like TIE — for The Indus Entrepreneurs — and Monte Jade — named for the highest peak in Taiwan — stand ready and willing to work with the locals to advance a high-tech economy.

While forging new relationships is important to attracting talent, cultivating a new mindset may be crucial.

Prejudice and parochialism can stifle efforts to welcome strangers from a strange land. But civic leaders can overcome this natural inclination by appealing to a community’s sense of competitiveness.

The best sports teams, when lacking talent, go and find it. And they don’t care if a teammate speaks with an accent.

Twenty percent of the players in the National Basketball Association are foreign born, as are 30 percent of the players in Major League Baseball.

A desire to build a skilled, versatile team with the most talented people on the planet could lead to a new economy — and a new era of winning.

http://www.aolnews.com/opinion/article/opinion-heres-a-quick-and-cheap-way-to-create-jobs-welcome-more-skilled-immigrants/19578143

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Richard T. Herman and Robert L. Smith are the co-authors of “Immigrant Inc.: Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs are Driving the New Economy” (2009 John Wiley & Sons).

Learn more at www.ImmigrantInc.com

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FROM AOL News, “Acting Like Arizona Is Bad for Business,” Herman & Smith

August 2nd, 2010

On July 28th, a federal judge blocked parts of Arizona’s new anti-immigration law. On Thursday, the rest of it went into effect. And while the court ruling against the law is being hailed as a victory for the Obama administration, the law is still very popular with Arizonans and the public at large. Nevertheless, this law will in the end be bad for Arizona’s businesses, and bad for the rest of the country if other states follow suit.

To understand why, consider this story.

Last year, when President Barack Obama went to the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen to pitch Chicago as host of the 2016 Summer Olympics, an IOC member confronted Obama and described the “pretty harrowing experience” of entering America as a foreigner.

Obama responded that he hoped the world would see “that America, at its best, is open to the world.”

As we all know, the IOC wasn’t convinced, and as a result Chicago lost the projected $4.4 billion in expected business that would have come from hosting the games.

The world is taking notice that the U.S. is becoming a less-welcoming place, and it’s hurting our businesses and our economy.

Post-9/11 security concerns, anxiety over America’s changing demographics and anger over job losses due to global competition have accelerated America’s souring relationship with immigrants, and not just immigrants here illegally.

And the xenophobia fueled by Arizona will only make matters much worse.

Twenty states are now considering passing a law like Arizona’s, which requires local cops to act as federal immigration agents and question the immigration status of people they suspect are in the country illegally. Similar proposals are being pushed even in Ohio and Michigan, northern states where the undocumented immigrant population is minuscule.

While border states are rightfully concerned about illegal immigration and its consequences, a patchwork of state and local immigration laws isn’t the answer. That will inevitably lead to profiling based on race and class, hard feelings and a pattern of harassment that will extend to U.S. citizens who cannot quickly produce the proper papers.

That could be a problem for the 21 million adult citizens who, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, lack government-issued photo identification. The lack of ID is especially common among the elderly, the poor and African-Americans. Some 30 million women citizens don’t have documents to prove citizenship that reflects their current names.

National security also will be undermined as federal agents, responding to calls from local police, are pulled away from serious investigations to go and pick up an undocumented busboy.

And almost certainly, illegal immigrants will become loath to report crimes and cooperate with local police, out of fear of being arrested.

But another significant problem with Arizona’s approach is that it will raise wariness among international visitors and legal immigrants, many of whom are coming to invest in a business or take a job that matches their special skill.

Anyone would think twice about moving to a place where they might arouse suspicion for looking foreign.

The new, chillier welcome comes at a bad time.

Lured by increasing opportunities abroad, many Chinese, Indians and other professionals who earned advanced degrees in America are moving back to their homelands or to third countries. They have grown impatient with visa quotas that make them wait five to 10 years for a green card.

These are the people we should be recruiting, not scaring away, as Fay Beydoun, the director of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, argued in a recent interview with The Michigan Messenger.

“Michigan has worked hard to recruit international investors and companies, as well as American high-tech businesses,” she said. “This has created thousands of jobs. Why would we want to drive these investors away with a law that makes Michigan hostile to immigrants? Why would you bring your business to Michigan knowing that the police might stop you or your employees, just because of how you look. This proposal will cost us jobs.”

She not talking about just a few jobs. According to a 2008 report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, foreign firms employed more than 5 million American workers through their U.S. affiliates and have indirectly created millions of additional jobs. More than 30 percent of direct hires are in manufacturing.

What’s needed isn’t patchwork state laws that play on our worst prejudices about immigrants but comprehensive immigration reform that tightens the border, legalizes undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria and, most important, streamlines the nation’s outdated system that encourages illegal immigration.

A smart new immigration plan would also place a greater emphasis on attracting high-skill immigrants — the innovators and entrepreneurs who make America more competitive and create jobs.

Whether Arizona legislators admit it or not, immigrants of all kinds will now shy away from Arizona. What would be tragic is if they started shying away from America.

http://www.aolnews.com/opinion/article/opinion-acting-like-arizona-is-bad-for-business/19566601

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Richard Herman and Robert L. Smith are the co-authors of “Immigrant Inc.: Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs are Driving the New Economy” (2009 John Wiley & Sons). Learn more about the book at http://www.immigrantinc.com/

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