How more ironic can it be to see that Trump administration has still not finished hitting hard on immigrants sending a message of America first without immigrants without realizing that America is not complete without immigrants who make America proud again and again and again. This is yet another example of proud American immigrants who are the torch bearers of success of COVID-19 vaccine trials or even the aerospace company without whose help NASA wouldn't have written another success story. The following cannot be more apt to undermine this administration's obtuse anti-immigration measures.
- Moderna, the first company to announce a near 95 percent success rate with its COVID-19 vaccine, was founded by Lebanese-born Noubar Afeyan, who came to the United States to earn his Ph.D. in biochemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has since started/co-founded 38 companies, and registered more than 100 patents.
- Moderna’s CEO Stephane Bancel, a native of France came to the U.S. to complete graduate studies in chemical engineering at the University of Minnesota and went on to earn MBA at Harvard’s business school.
- Moderna’s chief medical officer -Tal Zaks, an Israeli physician came to this country to complete his post-doctoral studies.
- Pfizer was created by two Turkish immigrants in Germany.
- The SpaceX aerospace company that flew the first private manned space ship in partnership with NASA to the International Space Station was created by Elon Musk, a South African immigrant.
- Immigrants or their children have founded 45 percent of America’s Fortune 500 companies, according to a 2019 New American Economy study. They include the founders of Amazon, Apple and Google.
- Google's success story has footprints of Sundar Pichai who came to the U.S. to study M.S. from Stanford University in materials science and engineering and further attained an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was named a Siebel Scholar and a Palmer Scholar, respectively.
- Microsoft is led by Satya Nadela who came to the U.S. to study an M.S. in computer science at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, in 1990. Later, he received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1996.
- Pepsi until most recently was led by Indira Nooyi who came to U.S. and earned a Master's degree in Public and Private Management in 1980 from Yale School of Management. She has consistently ranked among the world's 100 most powerful women. In 2014, she was ranked at number 13 on the Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, and was ranked the 2nd most powerful woman on the Fortune list in 2015. In 2017, she was ranked the 2nd most powerful woman once more on the Forbes list of The 19 Most Powerful Women in Business.
- Mastercard is headed by Ajaypal Singh Banga-an Indian american.
The list goes on and on and still this administration has steadily restricted visas for foreign students and professionals as part of its populist anti-immigration crusade. This is high time the sanity should dawn on those who are desperately acting to curb immigrants' efforts to gain legal entry into the United States. This is a great nation of immigrants that has been the beacon of hope, unity and strength to the entire world. I am proud to be an immigrant who has and will continue to work hard and sweat out for the success of this nation.
Vijay Bhagwati, Esq.
Founder and Managing Partner
