Time to Immigrate!

Can immigrants helps us re-energize our economy? The fact is, immigration may be key to attracting the talent needed to engineer a new economic growth wave. Consider what's happening in central Ohio.

Per a report from the Columbus Dispatch, about 40,000 foreign-born residents of Franklin County, in central Ohio which includes Columbus, arrived in the U.S. during the past eight years. Compared to the general population, members of this group tend to have:

• Higher-education degrees;


• Higher average income; and


• Lower unemployment.

Who is in this group? It ranges from refugees to highly-educated persons here on special visas.

• About 39% are from Asia;
• 23% are from Latin America; and
• 21% come from Africa. This includes a large number of Somalis who fled a civil war that erupted there in 1991.

Lee Williams, director of the International Institute of Akron, Inc., which helps immigrants settle in Northeast Ohio, has said that the immigrants tend to have a "wonderful work ethic, they love overtime, and they are very loyal."

That's a winning combination, one our country has seen before when large numbers of immigrants came to the U.S. to build better lives.

Quick Vue: The two videos below celebrate the first person to immigrate to the US. through Ellis Island. Annie Moore, a 15 year-old from Ireland, was that person. The first video is a trailer for a film about Annie Moore made by 11 year-old students in Cork, Ireland. The second video features the Irish Tenors singing Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears, which also tells Annie's story.

Sources for this post include The Plain Dealer and Columbus Dispatch.