Today FWD.us, a national advocacy organization fighting to pass commonsense, comprehensive immigration reform legislation, is holding a day of action. They are working with Representative McGovern and highlighting the story of Hanlin, an immigrant who graduated from WPI, raised angel funding, started a robotics company, and is about to pack up his bags and the jobs he’s creating to head for home. Not because he doesn’t want to stay in Worcester – he does – but because of our nation’s broken immigration policies.
His struggle, and the fight of FWD.us, affects all of us. Massachusetts awards more Post-Secondary degrees to immigrants per capita than any other state in the nation. So policies that force talent to leave after graduation disproportionately harm the Commonwealth’s economy. We educate them, we train them, we invest in them, and then when they get their company off the ground, we ask them to leave. Essentially, our broken immigration policies are exporting jobs overseas and whole companies to China.
Hanlin’s story represents how America’s broken immigration policies are hurting the Massachusetts’ economy. During my campaign for Lt Governor I talked about expanding the innovation economy in Massachusetts by connecting the many hubs of innovation across the state – from Boston to the Berkshires – with each other and with state government. It is still something I believe in, and a few months ago I joined with other entrepreneurs, innovators, activists, and thought leaders to create a grassroots advocacy organization for start-ups and the innovation economy – InnovateMA. The premise of InnovateMA is to better advocate for policies that will help Massachusetts create jobs, train residents, and better compete in the global economy.
We launched InnovateMA with a tour of incubator and innovation spaces across the Commonwealth. At our stop at RunningStart in Worcester, we met Hanlin for the first time, and he asked us for help. So we are asking you to join us in helping him, by amplifying his story and that of other aspiring immigrants.
First, sign a petition http://InnovateMA.com/ee to restore funding to the Global Entrepreneurs in Residence program, which would allow people like Hanlin, who have graduated and are trying to start companies here, to stay. (Read more about it here: http://fortune.com/2014/04/14/massachusetts-clever-immigration-reform-workaround/)
Second, join FWD.us in pushing for comprehensive federal immigration reform by taking action here: http://blog.fwd.us/progress-h-4-visa-holders
(Hanlin telling his story at a FWD.us monthly meeting)
Diversity isn’t a noun describing who we are; it’s a verb describing the continuous creation and defense of our values. It’s not a word describing something we’ve achieved; it’s a call to action for who we want to be. I hope you’ll join me in that.
