Immigrants have been integral to the innovation and growth success of Silicon Valley
Shellye Archambeau
Fortune 500 board director, strategic advisor, former CEO and author
As a technology CEO and American citizen, I am appalled and dismayed by the President of the United States' Executive Order signed this Friday, January 27 barring entry to the United States of individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries. I respect our country’s need to appropriately protect our borders and ensure national security. But the Executive Order is contrary to this country’s greatest ideals that embrace and respect people of all backgrounds, ethnicity and religious beliefs.
Silicon Valley thrives as a result of our open culture of entrepreneurship and risk taking. It has literally been built and shaped by immigrants. According to a study by The Partnership for a New American Economy, 40% of America’s Fortune 500 companies were founded by an immigrant or the child of an immigrant. Over 50% of the engineers in Silicon Valley are foreign born. The US has attracted, educated and welcomed some of the best and brightest individuals from around the world. They have been instrumental in the growth of our economy at large and of our companies individually.
Google’s Sergey Brin, eBay’s Pierre Omidyar, and Tesla Motors’s Elon Musk all founded companies that have market caps in the tens or hundreds of billions—employing tens of thousands of workers. They were all born outside the U.S. At least one founder of Yahoo, Facebook, and LinkedIn, was born abroad and then emigrated to the United States and there are many many many more.
Whatever your views, I encourage everyone to make their feelings heard by our congress and our President.
Innovator, Technologist, Peacebuilder
4 年Shelley, this is a great article! Thank you for your leadership.
Retired pharmacologist. My interests are scientific writing, the environment, and afterschool tutoring for grades K-5.
7 年Shellye, thank you for your wisdom on the subject of immigrant contributions. Where I live in eastern Tennessee, many of the health care providers are either of Indian (the country) or hispanic descent. One might predict, and a recent report has already indicated, that the top-performing medical and research students from countries like India will hesitate before coming to the US at this time of increased anti-immigrant hatred. Our status as the country that attracts the best and the brightest is at risk whenever those with great skills decide that they or their families are not welcome here.
Licensed Marriage And Family Therapist at Rhemaconsultation & Psychotherapy
7 年Based on some of these comments I can tell some of you didn't even read her article!
Director of Facilities & Security at Technology Credit Union (Tech CU)
7 年Well said Shelly because we all know that a 90 day moratorium into the US from countries at war is outrageous. Which ones do you want in your neighborhood?