WE NEED IMMIGRANTS TO THRIVE.

• Author: Binnings, Tom
• Position: THE ECONOMIST

My new son-in-law was born in the U.S. shortly after his parents emigrated from India to work in aerospace. My wife's mom emigrated from Paraguay in the 1950s after her brother was recruited by the U.S. oil industry. The first American Binnings was a ship captain from London who arrived around the Civil War.

Our nation, more than any other in modern history, is made of immigrants. Foreign-born U.S. residents represent 13.5 percent of the U.S. population. About half are naturalized citizens and about one-quarter are unauthorized. Twenty percent of Americans are either first- or second-generation immigrants, and 25 percent of all children under the age of 18 have at least one immigrant parent.

A 2011 study by the American Psychological Association found first generation immigrants have better physical and behavioral health as well as some better educational outcomes. Unfortunately, the study also found health and educational outcomes decline in subsequent generations as immigrants become "Americanized."

In Colorado, only 10 percent of residents are foreign immigrants. Immigration, however, is still important to Colorado. Like the nation, 42 percent of all people 25 and over who moved from a foreign country to Colorado from 2011 to 2015 have a college or graduate degree. Not all the recent foreign movers are immigrants--some could be military personnel returning home to a place such as El Paso County, where 1.3 percent of its total population moved from abroad in the prior year and only 2 percent moved from another Colorado county.

This global mobility, by definition, promotes new perspectives, which can lead to innovation and at least a greater appreciation for who we are.

Intuitively, one would think migrants are risk-takers, as they are pulled to leave home by opportunity. Often, rather than being pulled to a new land of opportunity, immigrants are pushed out to escape famine, war or persecution. While any move involves risk, the perceived risk of moving could be far less than staying, regardless of whether the impetus is pull or push.

Foreign immigration policies and social networks that can help facilitate migration can highly influence the decision to move. Research through the Small Business Administration shows immigrants form businesses at over twice the rate as non-immigrants, and exports are a higher proportion of their sales. Conversely, sales and hired employees are lower in immigrant businesses.

The research consensus finds...