Immigrant Heritage Month (IHM) 2019, a national effort to collect and share inspiring stories of immigrants in America. Led by the 
I Am An Immigrant campaign, this year marks the sixth Annual Immigrant Heritage Month, an opportunity to celebrate immigrants and immigration, our heritage, and the countless contributions that immigrants have made and continue to make to our nation.
Currently, about 13% of the U.S. population is of recent immigrant origin. Immigrants contribute in incredibly important ways to our society. Economically, this 13% segment of immigrants actually over-represents by contributing about 15% of the country’s economic output. According to 
a recent study by New American Economy, 28% of new businesses in the country were founded by immigrants.
Another study shows that about 40% of the companies on the Forbes 500 list were created by immigrants or children of immigrants. Companies like Google (founded by Sergey Brin from Russia), Yahoo (founded by Jerry Yang from Taiwan), eBay (founded by Iranian/French entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar), and many others have made radical innovations in our lifestyle that would not have been possible without the immigrants who built them.
And the contributions of immigrants are not limited to our economy. The cultural landscape of America has been shaped by immigrants for years, and they are beginning to be recognized at the highest levels. For example, the three most recent consecutive winners of the Best Director Oscar were Alejandro González Iñárritu, Alfonso Cuarón, and Guillermo del Toro, three immigrants from Mexico, and Kehinde Wiley, son of a Nigerian 
immigrant, became the first African American to paint a presidential portrait.
This year, the celebration is more relevant than ever, as many immigrants have been unfairly vilified in the current political climate. The I Am An Immigrant foundation has also launched the #IStandWithImmigrants initiative, which will last an entire year and seeks to give a platform to individuals, businesses, and organizations that want to stand up and support their immigrant employees, colleagues, friends, and neighbors.
Businesses have also stepped up their efforts in recent years to show solidarity with immigrants and refugees. The founder and CEO of Chobani, Hamdi Ulukaya, an immigrant from Turkey, started a program to hire refugees who were settling in the Utica, New York area, near Chobani’s facilities. The UPS foundation also recently donated over 14 
million dollars to a set of NGOs working for the safety and resettlement of refugees. Remitly has consistently supported immigrant causes over the years. Recently, CEO Matt Oppenheimer testified before Congress to advocate for remittances and, along with New American Economy, Remitly also participated in the iMarch for Immigration event series to discuss different ways to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.
If you are an immigrant, you can share your story (and your family’s) on social media with the hashtags #iamanimmigrant, #celebrateimmigrants, #immigrantheritagemonth, and #IstandWithImmigrants.
Sources: www.Fwd.us and Remitly