Immigrants have contributed mightily to our country

When immigrants come to the United States, they are coming for real opportunity — for a better life than the one that preceded them. Along the way, our immigration system brings with it hard work, diverse levels of talent, and an entrepreneurial spirit to create something new. Therefore, it would be a mistake —as the RAISE Act legislation has proposed — to associate declining wage growth with immigrants entering our country.

I was blessed enough to have moved to the land of opportunity at the young age of 13. I have had the privilege of living over 20 years in this great nation, and served in the U.S. Navy in both active and reserve capacity for 12 of those years. I have been fortunate enough to be a part of nonprofit organizations that help make a difference in the local community. Furthermore, I have been able to start a business that we’ve watched grow over the last half-decade and have been blessed with the opportunity to employ more and more North Texans.

I do not believe my story is an anomaly. Rather, I believe it to be a testament of the hardworking immigrants who make and call North Texas home. The many foreign-born faces that are deeply woven into the fabric of our community, just like many native-born Texans, contribute to the strength of our economic might. It is in this amazing experiment that I believe America reaches its highest peak.

But it’s not just immigrants who are gaining from our progress as a “dreamer” to a contributor. Many American workers and their industries are greatly benefiting from the contributions of foreign-born talent. According to New American Economy (NAE), while immigrants make up around 14 percent of the population, they account for nearly 30 percent of new entrepreneurs. Over 6 million Americans are employed at immigrant-owned businesses.

In Texas, we have one of the best examples of foreign-born power. I am proud to call myself one of the 336,000 immigrant entrepreneurs in our state. Collectively, we had over $89 billion in spending power in 2014, according to NAE research. The RAISE Act also doesn’t address the shortage of workers that we need and would limit the immigrant pipeline that we rely on across the economic spectrum — that’s because a foreign-born individual in Texas is far more likely to be of working age than a native-born individual, by a healthy margin. The economic impact of immigrants in the Lone Star State is staggering. I implore members of Congress to remember these truths when they are forming new laws for our system’s future.

I have experienced the repeated challenges of immigrating to the United States and starting a business. Twenty years later, I am now looking to expand my business and hire more workers. But it disappoints me to know that if the RAISE Act were in place at the time I was coming through, I may not have been able to immigrate here and make North Texas my home. I hope that my fellow immigrants who are looking to make the same impact are not denied. Congress must take a different path and encourage the foreign-born spirit that makes us feel as one unique and united country.

This story was originally published September 1, 2017 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Immigrants have contributed mightily to our country."