Happy to come across this story in Forbes that imparts an important, if inconvenient truth to some, about immigrant achievement in the U.S. My guess is that those most in opposition are themselves the progeny of immigrants. In any case, here's what author Stuart Anderson says in this regard:
The evidence indicates that the children of immigrants are increasing their influence on science in America. Sixty percent (24 of 40) of the finalists of the 2004 Intel Science Talent Search had at least one immigrant parent. In 2011, that proportion rose to 70% (28 of 40) who had at least one immigrant. And in 2016, the number rose again to 83% (33 of 40) of the finalists of the Intel Science Talent Search who had at least one immigrant parent.
Eye-popping, right? (Continue to Anderson piece below.)
Although the story of immigrant achievement is more complex than I can possibly do justice to in this brief commentary (for more, read my book Subtractive Schooling), research on immigrant achievement has consistently shown higher levels of achievement among our immigrant population relative to our U.S.-born youth. As already suggested, there are caveats...
Despite these, research by my former student, Laurie Pierce, working with former Texas State Rep. Rick Noriega in 2000 showed
that a very high percentage—I want to say at least 45 percent—of
high school valedictorians that year in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) were immigrant
youth. For Texas legislators in that era with Rick Perry as governor, it seemed wasteful not to give these youth a chance by waiving their out-of-state tuition dollars. After all, they had contributed positively to K12 education and it wasn't their fault that they found themselves in the U.S. Many of them didn't even know they were undocumented until they made that sad discovery in high school that having to pay out-of-state tuition as a "foreigner" was their only option if they had hopes of going to college. And many of them did.
Plus, these young people were already living in the U.S. for an extended time period and it seemed the right thing to do. Here are the qualifications:
Plus, these young people were already living in the U.S. for an extended time period and it seemed the right thing to do. Here are the qualifications:
To qualify in Texas, students must live in the state at least three years continuously before graduating from high school or receiving the equivalent of a diploma. Students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States must declare an intention to seek legal resident status as soon as they are eligible.
Years of advocacy by MALDEF, LULAC, and other groups together with research that Laurie and I did contributed to the development and passage in 2001 of HB1403, Texas' in-state tuition bill, sometimes referred to as the "Texas Dream Act."
Texas, was the first state to
pass this and was followed that same year in 2001 by California's AB 540, with other states adoting it as law, as well. Today, most folks recognize this as the federal DREAM Act.
At the moment, there is a bill in the Texas House, HB 393, authored by a Texas legislator named Strickland to repeal the 2001 law but thankfully, House Speaker Joe Straus isn't hearing it as he deems the policy to be “perfectly acceptable,” according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Not only is it "perfectly acceptable," but is in fact demonstrably important to our future as a society and economy as this piece indicates, as well as more recent research in 2015 by Ann Beeson of the Center for Public Policy Priorities. Not only are immigrants poised to thrive with good policies like HB 1403 and the DREAM Act, but our state and nation, too.
Angela Valenzuela
c/s
83% Of America's Top High School Science Students Are The Children Of Immigrants
Stuart Anderson, Contributor
(Linda Doane/Society for Science & the Public)
Amol Punjabi won the First Place Medal of
Distinction for Basic Research at America's top competition for high
school science students in 2016.
What would we lose if immigrants could no longer
come to America? Surprisingly, one of the most important things America would
lose is the contributions made by their children.
A new study from the National Foundation for American
Policy found a remarkable 83% (33 of 40) of the finalists of the 2016 Intel
Science Talent Search were the children of immigrants. The competition
organized each year by the Society for Science & the Public is the leading
science competition for U.S. high school students. In 2017, the talent search
competition was renamed the Regeneron Science Talent Search, after its new
sponsor Regeneron Pharmaceuticals,and a new group of 40 finalists – America's
next generation of scientists, engineers and mathematicians – are competing in
Washington, D.C., from March 9 to 15, 2017.
Both family-based and
employment-based immigrants were parents of finalists in 2016. In fact, 75% –
30 out of 40 – of the finalists had parents who worked in America on H-1B visas
and later became green card holders and U.S. citizens. That compares to seven
children who had both parents born in the United States.
To put that in perspective, even
though former H-1B visa holders represent less than 1% of the U.S. population,
they were four times more likely to have a child as a finalist in the 2016
Intel Science Talent Search than were parents who were both born in the United
States.
Parents who were international
students were more likely to have a child as a finalist than native-born
parents. A total of 27 of the 40 children – 68% – had a parent who came to
America as an international student. That means if international students
cannot remain in America after graduation (through Optional Practical Training
and improved visa policies) it will also deprive America of the potentially
substantial contributions of their children.
Three of the finalists, or 7.5%,
had parents who came to America as family-sponsored immigrants (although the
number is four parents, or 10%, if one counts the family-sponsored immigrant
who married an H-1B visa holder).
Among the 40 finalists of the
2016 Intel Science Talent Search, 14 had parents both born in India, 11 had
parents both born in China, and seven had parents both born in the United
States. People of Indian and Chinese birth represent only about 1% of the U.S.
population each, according to the Pew Research Center.
In addition to China, India and
the United States, the countries of origin for the parents of 2016 Intel
Science Talent Search finalists represent a diverse set of countries, including
Canada, Cyprus, Iran, Japan, Nigeria, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
The evidence indicates that the
children of immigrants are increasing their influence on science in America.
Sixty percent (24 of 40) of the finalists of the 2004 Intel Science Talent
Search had at least one immigrant parent. In 2011, that proportion rose to 70%
(28 of 40) who had at least one immigrant. And in 2016, the number rose again
to 83% (33 of 40) of the finalists of the Intel Science Talent Search who had
at least one immigrant parent.
The science competition has been
called the “Junior Nobel Prize” and more than 95% of winners of the Intel
Science Talent Search (STS) traditionally have pursued science as a career,
with 70% earning Ph.D.’s or M.D.’s. Many of the students I interviewed hope to
start their own companies.
In 2016, seven of the nine top
awards were earned by the children of immigrants, including first place prizes
for innovation and basic research. Amol Punjabi won the First Place Medal of
Distinction for Basic Research for developing software that could be used by
pharmaceutical companies to combat cancer and heart disease.
The children of immigrants among
the finalists I interviewed understood the sacrifices their parents made to
ensure them a better life. And, it is important to remember, all of these
children, whether born here or naturalized, are as American as you and me.
Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna appreciates
all her Nigerian-born parents have done to give her the best education
possible. “They sacrificed so much for me,” said Augusta, who experimented with
ways to improve the properties of cement, which has practical applications that
include helping to prevent oil spills. “My father grew up during the civil war
in Nigeria and couldn’t afford an education.”
Despite the obstacles, Augusta’s
father, Tobias Nna, overcame the odds and was trained as a physical therapist.
He came to the United States on an H-1B visa. “Our goal in coming to America
was to provide an opportunity for our children to study, have access to
journals and computers,” Tobias Nna told me. “I’m very happy they have taken
advantage of these opportunities.”
“Seeing what my parents did to
make a better life for their children has inspired me to do everything I can to
succeed,” said Augusta. “This is the land of opportunity.”
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