By Foulis Peacock
Immigration dominates the headlines. Tragic shootings involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, renewed enforcement debates, and constant media coverage have fueled calls — particularly from some voices in Washington — to slow or sharply restrict immigration, including legal pathways.
Amid the noise, one fact stands out: legal immigrant entrepreneurs are a uniquely valuable asset to the United States. They create jobs, generate tax revenue, drive innovation, and help revive communities across the country. Their contributions do not benefit immigrants alone — they benefit all Americans.
Imagine if these talented, rule-following entrepreneurs were slowed or excluded. American workers could lose 1 out of every 7 private-sector jobs, communities could see small businesses close, and billions in tax revenue could disappear. Innovation in technology, renewable energy, healthcare, and other high-growth sectors would stall. The U.S. would not simply lose new companies — it would lose one of its most powerful engines of economic growth and community renewal.
A Critical Distinction: Legal Immigration Matters
All business ownership and entrepreneurship data in this article refers specifically to legal immigrants — individuals who entered the U.S. through lawful channels and have the right to start and own businesses. While some tax data includes all immigrants, the core measures — business formation, job creation, and innovation — overwhelmingly reflect legal immigrant entrepreneurship.
Understanding their measurable economic contribution provides essential context for policy discussions, independent of debates over illegal immigration.
The Entrepreneurial Edge: Building Businesses at Twice the Rate
Immigrants make up roughly 14% of the U.S. population, yet they launch 25% of all new employer businesses (MIT, 2021). In states such as New Jersey, immigrants founded 37.2% of new businesses, starting companies at more than twice the rate of native-born Americans.
These businesses are not abstract statistics. They are community-rooted restaurants, retail shops, construction firms, tech startups, and service companies — creating real jobs in American neighborhoods.
Immigrants represent 14% of the U.S. population but launch 25% of all new employer businesses — starting companies at more than twice the rate of native-born Americans
Job Creators, Not Job Takers
Businesses majority-owned by immigrants employ 1 out of every 7 Americans in the private sector (Fiscal Policy Institute, 2022).
These are American jobs, rooted in local communities.
While many large corporations close factories and offshore work to China or Mexico, immigrant entrepreneurs are doing the opposite: opening businesses here, hiring American workers, and keeping jobs on Main Street.
They invest locally rather than exporting opportunity overseas.
Immigrant entrepreneurs create jobs at higher rates than native-born business owners. In 2024:
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91% of new immigrant-owned businesses had at least one employee, compared with 84% of all new businesses
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25% planned to hire more workers, versus 22% of all entrepreneurs
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Among second-generation entrepreneurs, 31% plan to expand their teams
Immigrant-founded companies also show higher rates of patenting and innovation and start more than 25% of all businesses in seven of the eight sectors the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects to grow fastest over the next decade.
Businesses majority-owned by immigrants employ 1 out of every 7 Americans in the private sector — these are American jobs staying in America.
Revenue, Taxes, and Economic Contribution
After showing how immigrant entrepreneurs employ millions of Americans and strengthen local communities, it’s clear that their economic impact goes far beyond jobs — they also generate significant revenue and contribute substantially to the nation’s tax base.
Legal immigrant‑owned businesses contribute in a major way to the U.S. economy. These businesses generate more than $1 trillion in annual revenue, reflecting their scale, growth, and role in markets across the country. These figures understate the true impact, which includes local supplier purchases, commercial leases, service contracts, and broader ripple effects throughout communities.
Immigrant households — including legal immigrant business owners and workers — also contribute hundreds of billions of dollars in federal, state, and local taxes each year, helping fund essential public services that benefit all Americans. Based on analysis of the 2022 American Community Survey, immigrants in the United States had a combined household income of about $2.1 trillion and paid an estimated $382.9 billion in federal taxes and $196.3 billion in state and local taxes in 2022 — amounts that support schools, infrastructure, health care, public safety, and community programs nationwide.
These figures reflect the fiscal participation of immigrants as consumers, workers, and business owners, actively contributing to government revenues while building and sustaining local economies. (americanimmigrationcouncil.org)
Legal immigrant-owned businesses generate over $1 trillion in annual revenue and contribute billions to federal, state, and local governments.
Revitalizing Communities Across America
Legal immigrant entrepreneurs are reviving communities abandoned by population loss and corporate departures. In the Great Lakes region, legal immigrants accounted for 78.5 % of population growth between 2010 and 2022, stabilizing cities and towns that otherwise might have continued shrinking.
In rural counties and smaller cities, legal immigrant families drive local job growth, with each foreign-born resident supporting roughly 1.2 additional jobs — keeping businesses alive and housing markets steady. upwardlyglobal.org
Beyond jobs, legal immigrant households are homebuyers, business creators, and taxpayers, generating income and spending power that circulates through Main Streets and local supply chains. In the region, immigrant households generated nearly $236.6 billion in income and contributed billions in taxes in 2022, funding schools, roads, healthcare, and other public services. americanimmigrationcouncil.org
This revitalization is a direct benefit to everyday Americans: legal immigrant entrepreneurship rebuilds local economies, sustains declining communities, and keeps neighborhoods thriving.
Innovation Powerhouses
Immigrant entrepreneurs drive American innovation:
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Involved in 30% of patents in strategic industries
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Nearly 80% of privately held companies valued over $1 billion have immigrant founders or senior leadership
From Google (Sergey Brin) and Tesla (Elon Musk) to Duolingo (Luis von Ahn), immigrant founders are not exceptions — they are a consistent force behind transformative companies.
A Policy Gap: America Needs Entrepreneur-Friendly Visas
Despite their contributions, the U.S. still lacks a dedicated startup visa. Entrepreneurs must rely on complex workarounds such as the International Entrepreneur Rule, EB-5, E-2 treaty investor visas, or O-1A/EB-1A extraordinary ability visas.
Other nations — including Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia — actively recruit global entrepreneurial talent. Without a modern pathway, the U.S. risks losing job-creating founders to countries that welcome them.
The Cost of Ignoring the Facts
Slowing or restricting legal immigration would bring real consequences:
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Loss of 1 in 7 private-sector jobs
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Closure of community-rooted small businesses
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Billions in lost tax revenue
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Slower innovation in high-growth industries
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Reduced investment in local communities
Immigrant entrepreneurs are American job creators, innovators, and community builders.
Legal immigrant-owned businesses generate over $1 trillion in annual revenue and contribute billions to federal, state, and local governments.
Conclusion
The choice before America is simple.
We can let fear and political noise drive policy — or we can follow the facts.
immigrant entrepreneurs are helping rebuild Main Street, creating millions of American jobs, paying billions in taxes, and breathing new life into cities and towns left behind by globalization. They are not a burden on the U.S. economy — they are one of its most reliable growth engines.
At a moment when America needs more businesses, more workers, and more innovation, turning away legal immigrants would mean turning away prosperity itself.
Supporting them is not an immigration issue.
It is an economic strategy.
It is a jobs policy.
It is an investment in America’s future.
If we weaken this engine, we weaken ourselves.
If we strengthen it, America grows stronger with it.
About the Author
Foulis Peacock is an immigrant entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Immigrant Business (immigrantbiz.org) and the B2B marketplace Wadsaver.com. For more than a decade, Peacock has highlighted the economic and social contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs and advocated for policies that support job creation, innovation, and sustainable growth in America.
Sources
Fiscal Policy Institute, Immigrant-Owned Businesses and Private Sector Employment, 2022
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Immigrant Tax Contributions, 2022
Small Business Administration, Statistics on Immigrant-Owned Businesses, 2023
MIT, The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and Immigration Research, 2021
Gusto Survey, New Business Owner Demographics, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections by Industry, 2023
Congressional Budget Office, Economic Effects of Immigration, 2024
