Much More Than Talent
Watch this brief video where Zeke Hernandez discusses some of the broader contributions of immigrants beyond their professional skills.
Key Insights on The Holistic Contributions of Immigrants
- Most countries, and certainly the US, depend very heavily on the skills and talents of foreign born people. This is true in both skilled (e.g. STEM) and unskilled (e.g. services, construction, farming) sectors.
- Skill is not just a matter of education. Many foreigners without college degrees have essential skills without which an economy could not function.
- Immigrants often fill critical skill shortages in locations and companies that are desperate for them, like rural areas or places with declining populations.
- Win-win: When immigrants work alongside natives, they make natives more productive and help companies be more successful.
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How To Talk About Immigration
Conversations about immigration can be challenging due to its politicization, leading to avoidance, echo chambers, or confrontations.
This guide offers principles based on expert research and the author’s experiences, aimed at facilitating constructive discussions about immigration.
Case studies/examples
- Zeke Hernandez, “Hiring Immigrants is a Golazo for Your Company,” Substack, 2024, https://zekrets.substack.com/p/hiring-immigrants-is-a-golazo-for.
- Markian Hawryluk, “Amid Covid Health Worker Shortage, Foreign-Trained Professionals Sit on Sidelines,” KFF Health News, January 25, 2021, https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/amid-covid-health-worker-shortage-foreign-trained-professionals-sit-on-sidelines/.
- Parag Khanna, “The Global War for Young Talent Will Shape the Future,” Time, October 24, 2022, https://time.com/6224186/global-war-for-young-talent/.
- “Microsoft Expanding Canadian Operations in Greater Vancouver Area,” Microsoft, July 5, 2007, https://news.microsoft.com/2007/07/05/microsoft-expanding-canadian-operations-in-greater-vancouver-area/.
Prompting Meaningful Dialogue
Use these questions to spark thoughtful conversations about undocumented immigration, its impacts, and potential solutions.
- How much does your industry or company depend on immigrant talent?
- What sectors of your local economy would struggle without immigrant talent?
- Do you work with foreign-born people? Have they contributed in any way to help you do things differently?
Further reading and research:
Ready to learn more? Access detailed studies, articles, and reports that provide a factual, in-depth look at the contributions and impacts of immigrants in our society.
- Amy Burke, “Science and Engineering Labor Force,” National Science Foundation, 2019, https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20198/immigration-and-the-s-e-workforce.
- William R. Kerr, The Gift of Global Talent: How Migration Shapes Business, Economy and Society (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018).
- Michel Beine, Giovanni Peri, and Morgan Raux, “International College Students’ Impact on the US Skilled Labor Supply,” Journal of Public Economics 223 (July 1, 2023): 104917, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2023.104917.
- NAFSA, “Losing Talent: An Economic and Foreign Policy Risk America Can’t Ignore,” NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 2020, https://www.nafsa.org/policy-and-advocacy/policy-resources/losing-talent-economic-and-foreign-policy-risk-america-cant-ignore.
- Neil Lee and Stephen Clarke, “Do Low-Skilled Workers Gain from High-Tech Employment Growth? High-Technology Multipliers, Employment and Wages in Britain,” Research Policy 48, no. 9 (November 1, 2019): 103803, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2019.05.012.
- Sari Pekkala Kerr, William R. Kerr, and William F. Lincoln, “Skilled Immigration and the Employment Structures of US Firms,” Journal of Labor Economics 33, no. S1 (July 2015): S147–86;
- Anna Maria Mayda, Francesc Ortega, Giovanni Peri, Kevin Y. Shih, and Chad Sparber, “Coping with H-1B Shortages: Firm Performance and Mitigation Strategies,” Working Paper 27730, National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2020, https://doi.org/10.3386/w27730
- Agostina Brinatti et al., “The Impact of Immigration on Firms and Workers: Insights from the H-1B Lottery,” working paper, 2023
- Kirk Doran, Alexander Gelber, and Adam Isen, “The Effects of High-Skilled Immigration Policy on Firms: Evidence from Visa Lotteries,” Journal of Political Economy 130, no. 10 (October 2022): 2501–33, https://doi.org/10.1086/720467.
- Morgan Raux, “Looking for the ‘Best and Brightest’: Hiring Difficulties and High-Skilled Foreign Workers,” working paper, University of Luxembourg, 2021.
- Britta Glennon, “How Do Restrictions on High-Skilled Immigration Affect Offshoring? Evidence from the H-1B Program,” Management Science, March 15, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4715.
- Jun Chen, Shenje Hshieh, and Feng Zhang, “The Role of High-Skilled Foreign Labor in Startup Performance: Evidence from Two Natural Experiments,” Journal of Financial Economics 142, no. 1 (October 1, 2021): 430–52, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2021.05.042.
- Michael Roach and John Skrentny, “Why Foreign STEM PhDs Are Unlikely to Work for US Technology Startups,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116, no. 34 (August 20, 2019): 16805–10, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1820079116.
- Rajshree Agarwal, Martin Ganco, and Joseph Raffiee, “Immigrant Entrepreneurship: The Effect of Early Career Immigration Constraints on New Venture Formation,” Organization Science 33, no. 4 (July 2022): 1372–95, https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1485.
- Natee Amornsiripanitch, Paul A. Gompers, George Hu, and Kaushik Vasudevan, “Getting Schooled: Universities and VC-Backed Immigrant Entrepreneurs,” Research Policy 52, no. 7 (September 1, 2023): 104782, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2023.104782
- Daniel Aobdia, Anup Srivastava, and Erqiu Wang, “Are Immigrants Complements or Substitutes? Evidence from the Audit Industry,” Management Science 64, no. 5 (May 2018): 1997–2012, https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2016.2707.
- Britta Glennon, Francisco Morales, Seth Carnahan, and Exequiel Hernandez, “Does Employing Skilled Immigrants Enhance Competitive Performance? Evidence from European Football Clubs,” Working Paper 29446, National Bureau of Economic Research, December 2022, https://doi.org/10.3386/w29446.