America is pushing away immigrant talent

In 1959, Fidel Castro’s rise to power in Cuba started pushing hard- working, entrepreneurial people off the island. The talent flow continues to pay dividends for the United States. Refugees include former McDonald’s president Ralph Alvarez, former secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and the late actor Desi Arnaz. Children of Cuban immigrants include Washington Capitals and Wizards co- owner Raul Fernandez, and recent presidential candidates Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

The Cuban story is part of a broader pattern that has benefited the USA. Other countries make value creators feel unwelcome and desperate to leave, while the U. S. beckons the same people with promises of liberty, individualism and opportunity.

That’s the essence of the American brand, which pulled me from India as a young graduate student. Unfortunately, recent policy and shifting public sentiment are threatening to flip the script. America is rebranding itself as a place that pushes people away.

The reversal comes at a time when the country no longer has a monopoly on hosting big dreams. My nephew, a math and economics whiz from India, will make his mark in financial investment. But he doesn’t see a need to study or work in the USA. India, China and other countries that formerly pushed their talent out the door are giving people reasons to stay. Meanwhile, developed countries such as Canada are offering talented people reasons to come.

“Push” and “pull” factors are critical in entrepreneurship, based on new research I conducted with co- authors from the University of Illinois. We look specifically at what motivates aspiring entrepreneurs to quit their corporate jobs and strike out on their own, but similar dynamics drive the movement of people across borders.

When talented professionals sense misalignment between individual and organizational purpose, they start planning their exits. This is also true for residents of a country.

The international community is watching, but the greater risks will occur at home. Our research shows that organizational performance suffers when talented people leave to found their own firms. That’s partly because spinout founders function as ringleaders: They take the best people with them when they go. For countries that allow push factors to fester, the implication is a mass exodus of talent. That didn’t work out well for Cuba.

Vetting to keep potential criminals out is necessary, but countries that discourage immigration in the spirit of economic protectionism will suffer a double whammy — similar to the organizations we study. Not only will they lose talent from within, they also will enable their competition from the outside.

Recent rhetoric invites Americans to push away, but the door to economic growth opens in the other direction. As someone who celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit in my country of choice, I implore: Keep pulling, America.