The article profiles how one business addressed its talent bottlenecks by investing in upskilling local workers rather than relying solely on hiring externally. By developing in-house training and aligning job roles with evolving skills, the company was able to break through growth barriers and tap into local workforce potential. The piece illustrates a model for sustainable talent pipelines, emphasizing employer-led skills development and highlighting the mutual benefit for businesses and workers.

This NFAP policy brief by economist Madeline Zavodny provides a comprehensive analysis of the crucial role immigrants and international students play in sustaining U.S. higher education and the broader economy. The study projects that without immigrant-origin students, the U.S. undergraduate population would be nearly 5 million smaller and the graduate population 1.1 million smaller by 2037. Drawing on data from the Current Population Survey, NCES, and the Institute of International Education, the report highlights international students’ contributions to tuition revenue, innovation, entrepreneurship, and STEM workforce development. It finds that immigrant-origin students account for nearly 30% of all undergraduates and 28% of all graduate students, while international students alone contribute $44 billion to the U.S. economy and support 378,000 jobs. The report warns that restrictive immigration policies could accelerate higher education decline and undermine U.S. innovation capacity.

This report examines the economic and social consequences of the June 2025 travel ban targeting 19 countries, estimating that nationals from those countries contributed $3.2 billion in household income and $715.6 million in taxes in a single year prior to the ban. It warns that restricting access will hurt U.S. industries reliant on immigrant labor (such as hospitality, construction, manufacturing, and retail), reduce consumer spending, and disrupt family reunification. The analysis uses data on recent arrivals’ educational attainment, employment rates, and sectoral distribution to show how the ban could exacerbate labor shortages and reduce tax revenue.

This KFF data note analyzes immigrant contributions to the rural U.S. workforce using 2023 ACS data. Although immigrants are only about 5% of rural adults and the rural adult workforce, they occupy disproportionately high shares of roles in agriculture (28 %), construction (10 %), and as physicians/surgeons (14 %) in rural areas. The report also shows that noncitizen immigrants in rural areas are more likely to have low incomes (below $20,000) and to be uninsured than U.S.-born counterparts.

This NPNA toolkit provides communications and organizing guidance for advancing pro-immigrant and pro-democracy narratives. It equips immigrant-serving organizations and advocates with strategies to challenge harmful rhetoric, highlight belonging and interdependence, and frame immigration as essential to democratic strength. The guide includes message frameworks, storytelling tactics, examples of narrative interventions, and campaign templates that center freedom, fairness, and dignity. It aims to align national coalitions around shared messaging that builds “the Bigger We” — a unified movement for inclusive democracy.

In a 2025 survey by AGC and NCCER, 92 % of construction firms report difficulty hiring qualified workers, and 45 % say labor shortages are causing project delays. Nearly 28 % of firms report immigration enforcement has affected them directly or indirectly in the past six months (e.g., job site visits, workers not appearing). The report argues that stricter enforcement without expanding legal pathways will worsen workforce constraints, delay infrastructure and building projects, and raise costs for contractors and their clients.

This 2025 paper quantifies the projected consequences of restricting international student enrollment and work authorization in the U.S. STEM ecosystem. It models a scenario where foreign STEM graduates from U.S. universities decline by one-third due to new federal policies eliminating Duration of Status, OPT, and entry-level H-1B access. The study finds that such policies would reduce the U.S. high-skill STEM workforce by 6.2% overall and 11.5% at the PhD level, leading to annual productivity losses of $220–$440 billion within a decade. The analysis uses DHS, SEVIS, and Census data to map “front-door” retention pathways—from F-1 to OPT to H-1B and employment-based green cards—showing that 77.8% of STEM graduates currently enter the workforce immediately via this pipeline. Eliminating these mechanisms would dismantle America’s core talent funnel, undermining innovation and long-term competitiveness in science and technology.