New Jersey Business Immigration Coalition

Committed to Bipartisan and Common Sense Immigration Reform

The United States created its current immigration system more than half a century ago. The New Jersey Business Immigration Coalition believes that such an outdated and inefficient system cannot meet the needs of a vibrant, 21st century economy. For this reason, the Coalition is committed to sharing the best research and thinking on immigration policy with policy-makers, business leaders, and the public at large. Our goal is to achieve sensible and evidence-based immigration reform -- reform that enables us to draw on talent and labor from all over the world, calibrates immigration with the needs of the economy, and sustains our competitive advantage and core values as a “nation of immigrants.”

The Vital Role of Immigrants
in the New Jersey Health Sector     

New Jersey greatly benefits from the labor and skills of immigrants, who make up almost 30% of all healthcare positions in the state, including 41% of physicians, 30.2% of surgeons, and 29.7% of registered nurses. Immigrants are also a huge presence among workers in the direct care industry. Evidence also seems to suggest that the need for immigrant labor in the healthcare sector will intensify in the years ahead. Demographers predict that over a million new healthcare jobs will be created nationally by 2032. Despite efforts to attract and train more U.S.-born workers to fill these positions, a huge and dangerous gap between available jobs and the supply of workers will persist, unless legal pathways for the entry of foreign-trained healthcare professionals can be created. To learn more about this impending crisis, and its impact on the availability and quality of healthcare in our state, the Coalition organized a special program on December 5, 2023. Click on the button below for more information about this program.

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International Students at Rowan University

Coalition Calls Attention
to the Pivotal Role of
International Students
in the American Economy

  The Garden State Immigration Policy Institute, a joint undertaking of the NJ Business immigration Coalition and the NJ Business & Industry Association, convened a special program on May 11, 2023, to study the economic contributions of international students and scholars and to identify policy reforms that would restore American

leadership in attracting international talent to the United States. Featured speakers included Stuart Anderson, Executive Director of the National Foundation for American Policy, and Miriam Feldblum, Director of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a national coalition of more than 500 college and university presidents interested in advancing effective immigration policies. The program also included a panel of officials from five New Jersey colleges and universities talking about their experience in working with international students and scholars. Based in part on the discussions that took place at this event, the Coalition developed a number of policy recommendations on this topic that have been shared with members of the NJ congressional delegation.

 

New Jersey Immigrant Entrepreneurs -
Honored for Making a Difference      

While immigrants have played a valuable role in maintaining the working age population in New Jersey, they have also stimulated the state’s economy with their entrepreneurial skills and their ability to create hugely successful companies. In order to give proper recognition to their vital contribution to the state’s economy, the NJ Business Immigration Coalition conducts an annual awards ceremony honoring immigrant entrepreneurs in various occupational categories. This year’s awards were presented at the Multicultural Business Expo of the Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce on June 27, 2023. To learn about this year's award winners, click on the button below.

(From left to right): Alex Martinez, winner of the Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year
Award; Jaime Lucero, winner of the David Sarnoff Award for Advocacy and Community
Engagement; Diana Mejia, winner of the Josephine Ho Award for Non-profit Entrepreneurship;
and Alex Wang accepting for Princeton Nu Energy CEO Chao Yan, winner of the Albert Einstein
Award for Innovation
(From left to right): Alex Martinez, winner of the Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year Award; Jaime Lucero, winner of the David Sarnoff Award for Advocacy and Community Engagement; Diana Mejia, winner of the Josephine Ho Award for Non-profit Entrepreneurship; and Alex Wang accepting for Princeton Nu Energy CEO Chao Yan, winner of the Albert Einstein Award for Innovation
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Coalition Examines the Role of Temporary Foreign Workers
in the New Jersey Economy

Labor force shortages have adversely affected many industries in New Jersey. Many of these industries rely on temporary foreign workers, legally admitted to the U.S., to fill positions that are seasonal or short-term in nature. Although these programs are intended to fill an important gap in the U.S. labor market, their shortcomings were apparent during the discussion that took place at a special Coalition program on December 1, 2022.

The Role of Immigration in Easing Labor Shortages in New Jersey

The Coalition convened a group of national experts and industry representatives to discuss the connection between labor shortages and immigration levels on June 16, 2022. This virtual program was the inaugural event of the Garden State Immigration Policy Institute, a joint project of the NJ Business Immigration Coalition and the NJ Business and Industry Association. To watch a video of the program, click on the button below.

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Coalition Calls For an Immediate Legislative Solution
to the DACA Problem

At a time when there are labor shortages throughout many sectors of the economy, this is not the time to burden employers with the task of replacing the more than 10,000 talented DACA workers in New Jersey. For too long, these "dreamers" have been waiting for congressional action that never comes. Now they are threatened with court revocation of their temporary status. Members of both parties have signaled a willingness to regularize their status, and the great majority of Americans support such a solution, yet some lawmakers consider them bargaining chips in negotiations that never seem to go anywhere.

Coalition Endorses
Immigration Provisions in the
America COMPETES Act

In a statement sent to all members of the NJ congressional delegation, the Coalition expressed its support of provisions in the House-passed America COMPETES Act that provide important new pathways for entrepreneurs and critical STEM talent to enter the U.S. economy.

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Mercer county

Gateways for Growth Grant   

In partnership with the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Mercer County Office of Economic Development, the Coalition secured a "Gateways for Growth" grant to produce a report on the demographic and economic contributions of immigrants to Mercer County. The report was released at a virtual event on July 1, 2021.

   Opening the International Talent and Labor Pipeline

How can immigration policy promote economic recovery and growth?  How can we revive a bipartisan consensus on immigration? These were some of the questions discussed at a program entitled, "Opening the International Talent and Labor Pipeline," organized by the Coalition in partnership with the NJ Business and Industry Association on April 30, 2021. To access a video of the event, click on the link below.

Bipartisan Report