Why Immigration Is Good For America

I am often asked why I decided to become an immigration lawyer. The answer is simple: I receive tremendous satisfaction representing foreigners interested in starting a new life in the United States. These courageous people are leaving their lives behind, taking great risks, all with the dream that their children will have a better life in a new country.

But what makes immigration law even more satisfying is the knowledge that what I do is helping to  strengthen our economy.  Here are ten reasons why immigration is good for our country:

1)  Immigrants start businesses.  According to the Small Business Administration, immigrants are 30% more likely to start a business in the U.S. than non-immigrants.

2)  Immigrant owned businesses create jobs for American workers. According to the Fiscal Policy Institute, small businesses owned by immigrants employed an estimated 4.7 million people in 2007 and these small businesses generated more than $776 billion annually.

3)   Immigrants are more likely to create their own jobs. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 7.5% of the foreign born are self-employed compared to 6.6 percent of the native born.

4)   Immigrants develop cutting-edge technologies and companies. According to the National Venture Capital Association, immigrants have started 25 percent of public U.S. companies backed by venture Capital investors. This list includes Google, eBay, Yahoo!, Sun Microsystems, and Intel.

5)   Immigrants are our engineers, scientists, and innovators. According to the Census Bureau, despite making up only 16 percent of the resident population holding a bachelor's degree or higher, immigrants represent 33% of engineers, 27% of mathematicians, statisticians and computer scientists, and 24 % of physical scientists in the U.S.

6)   Immigration boosts earnings for American workers. Between 1990 and 2004, increased immigration was correlated with increasing earnings of Americans by 0.7 percent and is expected to contribute to an increase of 1.8 percent over the long-term according to a study by the University of California at Davis.

7)   Immigrants boost demand for local consumer goods.

8)   Immigration reform legislation reduces the deficit. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, under the 2010 house-passed version of the DREAM Act, the federal deficit would be reduced by $2.2 billion over ten years because of increased tax revenues.

9)   Immigration reform creates jobs. Immigration reform could support and create up to 900,000 new jobs within 3 years of reform from the increase in consumer spending, according to the Center for American Progress.

10)  Comprehensive immigration reform would increase America's GDP. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that even under the low investment assumptions, comprehensive immigration reform would increase GDP by between 0.8 percent and 1.3 percent from 2012 to 2016.


We are a nation of immigrants. Our greatness is closely linked to our diversity and the great contributions made by the immigrants permitted to legally relocate here. At Tucker & Ludin, we are proud of our work in immigration.  If you are interested in learning more about your immigration options, call me at 727-572-5000 or e-mail through our website at http://www.tuckerludin.com/practice-areas/Immigration/