Acknowledgments Today, foreign-born immigrants constitute 40 million of our colleagues, friends, and associates. They work in every U.S. industrial sector and provide essential services to our population. They start companies, create jobs, con- duct essential research, and carry out tasks that native-born Americans often prefer not to undertake. Yet, the contributions of our immigrants are fre- quently understated and unappreciated. This book is written for policy mak- ers, business leaders, and American citizens, hoping that it informs and inspires us as we work toward common-sense immigration policies and practices. Moreover, this study maintains that such initiatives will strengthen our economy, enhance our global image as the welcoming home to immi- grants and refugees, and show our appreciation for our immigrants’ contri- butions to our society. In The Danger of Devaluing Immigrants: Impacts on the U.S. Economy and Society, I quantify and document the significant roles that immigrants play in all aspects of life through an economic lens. Initially, this project sought to follow immigration and accompanying critical issues within the United States from a historical perspective. During the research process, my focus shifted to look more closely at the role of immigrants in various industries. In the end, I modified the scope of the study and expanded the research to look at immigrants’ roles in the supply chains of our economy. Immigrants are critical to industries that feed us, keep us healthy, develop new technologies, and even entertain us. As an immigrant myself, I hold this topic extremely close to my heart and, for me, the development of a rational American immi- gration policy is highly desirable. This book is a follow-up to my earlier publication, Becoming American: Why Immigration Is Good for Our Nation's Future. In that project, I addressed and debunked damaging myths surrounding immigration and highlighted diverse case studies on the contributions of immigrants to all aspects of our economy and society. Thus, the genesis of this book was the belief that this
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