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Sara McElmurry

How Chicago's immigrants can help us chart a path to COVID recovery

In the News
Crain's Chicago Business
Sara McElmurry

Working for a nonprofit that serves thousands of immigrants in Chicago each year, Sara McElmurry understands firsthand what immigrants can offer the city if offered access to opportunity.

Entrance to the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago Migration

We Can't Afford to Sideline these Essential Workers Now

In the News
Crain's Chicago Business
Sara McElmurry

As we look at ways to fight the virus and rebuild the region, championing the skills of immigrants is key to our recovery.

A sign for European Passport Control Global Health

Work Authorization Is a Lifeline for Asylum-Seekers—and for Chicago's Economy

In the News
Chicago Tribune
Sara McElmurry

Asylum protections and work authorization are critical, but if recent policy proposals from the Department of Homeland Security come to fruition, the future is bleak for asylum-seekers—and for local employers who would benefit from their talents.

Mural of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is pictured in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago
Reuters
Migration

What's at stake for us in the census debate

In the News
Crain's Chicago Business
Coauthors

As Chicago-based researchers who have documented our region's demographic dependence on immigration, we're concerned that the census will now undercount immigrants—and undercut the Midwest.

Immigrants being awarded their U.S. citizenship in Chicago. Migration

The looming crisis in health care

In the News
Crain's Chicago Business
Sara McElmurry

When the White House unveiled a hard-line plan last week to choke off immigration, it issued a threat to a crucial pipeline of Midwestern workers: home health care aides.

A person pushes someone in a wheelchair Migration

Why the Midwest can't afford new cuts to immigration

In the News
Crain's Chicago Business
Coauthors

The Midwest—rusting cities like Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland— has a cautionary tale to tell about cutting immigration: We know from experience that it harms our cities' populations, economies and workforces.

Maxwell Street in 1929. The open-air market on the Near West Side was established in the late 19th century by newly arrived immigrants. Migration

Hospitality industry needs more immigrant workers to survive, report says

In the News
Chicago Tribune
Sara McElmurry

As the Chicago hotel and restaurant scene booms, so, too, does the scramble for workers, and some businesses say they need more immigration, not less, to meet their labor needs.

A man stands in a crowd with a microphone Migration

The Midwest's impossible stance: Stagnant, yet conflicted on immigration

In the News
Crain's Chicago Business
Coauthors

Chicago's bold ambition to prop up its population by becoming "the most immigrant-friendly city in the world" also offers a pathway to revitalize metros across the region.

Protesters demonstrating against President Trump's executive order on immigration and refugees on Jan. 28. Migration

Cities, Suburbs, and Immigration: Connected Economies, Divided Politics

BLOG
Global Insight by Sara McElmurry

Cities may face some challenges with neighbors in the suburbs while trying to establish policies supporting immigration.

A crowded sidewalk in New York City
Leonard Regazzo
Migration

President Obama Calls Immigration Decision 'Heartbreaking,' But What's Next For Immigrants?

In the News
WBEZ Morning Shift
Sara McElmurry

The Supreme Court’s decision on President Obama’s immigration plan ended in a split decision. That means the lower court’s ruling to block the plan stands.

Barack Obama speaking on-stage behind a podium at the White House Migration