Summer, 2023

News and Views

2023 Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year Awards

Albert Einstein Award

for Innovation

Given to Chao Yan

of Princeton NuEnergy

The Coalition presented its 2023 Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year awards at the New Jersey Multicultural Business Expo on June 27. Among this year's winners was Chao Yan, founder and CEO of Princeton NuEnergy, who received the Albert Einstein Award for Innovation.

Mr. Yan's company -- a Bordentown-based innovative clean-tech company spun out from Princeton University in 2019 --specializes in the direct recycling of lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles and consumer electronics. The company recently received a $12 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to promote the commercialization of its battery recycling work.

Born in China, Yan received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the NJ Institute of Technology.

For information about our other 2023 award winners, click here

Legislation Introduced in Congress to Advance the

U.S. Registry Date

For almost 100 years, the America’s immigration system has operated with something called a “registry” date. If you lived in the U.S. prior to the registry date and met other conditions, you could apply for permanent resident status.

The first registry year was 1921 -- later advanced by Congress to 1940, then to 1948, 1958, and 1972. Since 1986 when the 1972 update was approved, Congress has failed to further update the registry date. As time has gone by, fewer and fewer people qualify for registry (less than 1,000 in the 2010s).

Having entered the country by a certain date is not the only requirement for registry. An applicant must be a person of “good moral character,” without any kind of criminal record, and someone who has lived continuously in the U.S.

A more current registry date could make millions of undocumented immigrants eligible for green cards. One study estimates that moving the registry date to 2010 would make 6.8 million undocumented immigrants eligible to apply.

Proponents of this legislation (H.R. 1511) believe that immigrants who have rooted themselves in the country while keeping a clean record and filling a niche in the economy should be granted legal status. What do you think?

Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez Introduces Bipartisan Immigration Reform Legislation

Seeking to take a modest step forward in reviving a bipartisan consensus on immigration policy, Texas Republican congressman Tony Gonzales has introduced the HIRE Act (H-2 Improvements to Relieve Employers Act). The legislation has been cosponsored by 15 Republican and Democratic congressman, including Congressman Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey.

The bill would streamline the H-2A agricultural worker program and H-2B seasonal worker program, extending visas to three years and reducing burdensome paperwork for employers, who suffer from chronic labor shortages.

The legislation has been endorsed by a broad spectrum of organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Immigration Forum, the National Association of Landscape Professionals, and the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Gonzalez's house district stretched from San Antonio to El Paso along the southern border of the U.S.

For further information about the HIRE Act, click here

U.S. Chamber of Commerce works to advance bipartisan immigration reform

In recent years, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has become increasingly active in championing the cause of immigration reform.

In May of this year, the Chamber and more than 440 national, state, and local business associations joined together to launch the "Legal Immigration and Border Enforcement Reform This Year" (Liberty Campaign). Campaign members argue that decades of Congressional inaction have worsened the situation at the southern border, as well as the problem of workforce shortages caused by an antiquated immigration system.

The Chamber has created an Immigration Data Center that gathers together information showing how our legal immigration system, created more than 50 years ago, fails to meet the needs of today's economy.

How Canada is taking advantage of the dysfunctional

U.S. immigration system

Guest blog of James Barrood, Founder & CEO of Innovation+

(Essay originally published in NJBIZ)

I was recently in Montreal and caught up with an old friend. She moved back from France during the pandemic and works in the innovation space in the health care sector. I complained to her about how Canada was taking advantage of our immigration bureaucracy and stealing away brilliant talent.

She agreed, and also mentioned a new program that was loaning employees $15,000 to start a side hustle. I was incredulous. And jealous as I learned about this progressive and novel initiative that was even sponsored by the government.

As all the research reveals, America’s ability to attract talented immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators has long driven economic growth and technological advancement across our state and nation. However, contrasting policy shifts in the United States and Canada are redefining their ability to attract and retain such talent.

To continue reading, click here

New Jersey has the 5th largest population of Black immigrants in the United States. These 225,205 immigrants play an increasingly important role in our economy and political landscape.

Click here for more information

There are ways that employers can support, and even retain, DACA recipients if pending litigation results in the loss of their work authorization.

Click here for more information

THE NEW JERSEY BUSINESS IMMIGRATION COALITION