Invest in Immigrants: Good for States, Good for America

National Journal
May 31, 2012

The minority is about to become the majority, and with this change come challenges and opportunities. If we invest in the integration of new Americans, the benefits far outweigh the costs.

According to recent census figures, for the first time in history, children from minority backgrounds make up 50.4 percent of children born in the United States, compared with 49.5 percent who are non-Hispanic white.

The growth in minority births is being driven by the nation’s Latino population, which grew by more than 3 percent to 52 million from 2010 to 2011. Latinos now make up nearly 17 percent of the nation’s population. Asians were the second-fastest-growing group with a surge of 3 percent to 18 million.

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Ali Noorani is the executive director of the National Immigration Forum, which led More Than Zero, an online campaign to seek funding for immigrant integration. Noorani has more than a decade of successful leadership in public-policy advocacy, nonprofit management, and coalition organizing across a wide range of issues.

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