Event: Building a Multicultural Alliance for Immigration Reform & The Immigrant-Friendly City
Thursday, February 21, 2013
4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Tomo Sushi & Hibachi Restaurant
1293 West 9th Street, Cleveland 44113

Reservations: http://immigrantfriendlycity.eventbrite.com/#

Online PR News – 16-February-2013 –A multicultural group of over 120 leaders from the Mexican, African American, Chinese, Jewish, Puerto Rican, Lebanese, Russian, Guatemalan, Nigerian, Romanian, Taiwanese, Palestinian, Pakistani, Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Indian, Serbian, Filipino and many other communities (listed below) have joined together to co-host the following free event in Cleveland, February 21, 2013, to promote federal immigration reform and local “immigrant-friendly” cities:

Building a Multicultural Alliance for
Immigration Reform
&
The Immigrant-Friendly City
Thursday, February 21, 2013
4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Tomo Sushi and Hibachi Restaurant & Lounge (Brand New!)
1293 West 9th Street, Cleveland 44113

To make reservations: http://immigrantfriendlycity.eventbrite.com/#

As the immigration reform movement gains momentum around the country, and as more cities look to immigrants as a key part to economic revitalization, leaders from Northeast Ohio’s business, minority, labor, non-profit and immigrant communities decided to come together to raise awareness on the opportunities to grow Greater Cleveland’s economy through immigration reform and welcoming new immigrants.

The networking will start at 4:30 pm, complimentary wine and appetizers will be provided. At 5:30 pm, a short program will begin, with several speakers who will touch on issues like "what is immigration reform?" "why does it matter to Greater Cleveland?" and "what can we do at the local level to create 'immigrant-friendly' cities?" At 6:00 pm, networking will resume and we will close out the evening at 6:30.

Event organizer, Richard Herman, a Cleveland Immigration Lawyer and co-author of the book, Immigrant, Inc., believes that changes in federal immigration policy can create an opportunity for cities in Northeast Ohio to grow their local economy:

“Restrictive immigration law and antiquated visa quotas have slowed the economic recovery in depopulating cities like Cleveland. The studies overwhelmingly demonstrate that immigration is not a zero-sum game. Immigrants --- entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, homeowners, consumers --- help create jobs for Americans. Forty percent of the Fortune 500 companies were founded by an immigrant or a child of an immigrant. Globally diverse and inclusive communities grow the pie and expand opportunity for all.”

Herman continued,

“What we don’t often discuss, when talking about immigration, is that immigrants are twice as likely to start a business or file a patent, in comparison to American-born. Twenty-Eight percent of all small businesses launched in 2011, from bodegas to high-tech startups, were founded by an immigrant. Immigrant-founded companies employ 1 out of 10 American workers. For every international student who stays in the U.S. after earning a graduate STEM degree from a U.S. university, 2.6 American jobs are created. And the economic benefits of immigration reform are not just on the high-skill side. Research demonstrates that legalization of 11 million undocumented immigrants will inject $1.5 trillion into the U.S. GDP over the next 10 years.”

Co-hosts of the February 21st event include leaders from Cleveland City Council, Ohio House of Representatives, and leaders from around the country, including Dr. Jan Vilcek (Founder of the Vilcek Foundation and 2012 recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation), Lee Fisher of CEOs for Cities and former Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General of Ohio, Steve Tobocman of Global Detroit, Joy Roller of Global Cleveland, and David Lubell, a pioneer of the immigrant welcoming movement.
Together, this multicultural alliance intends to change the conversation on immigration in Northeast Ohio and beyond.

The event will be held at the newly-opened Tomo Sushi Hibachi Restaurant & Lounge in Cleveland’s Warehouse District. Tomo is the brainchild of Immigrant-American entrepreneurs Velimir Lucic, of Serbia, and Benny Yang, of China. For photos of this historic four story building recently renovated by Velimir and Benny, see www.tomohibachiandsushi.com.

_______________

Co-Hosts of Event

Richard Herman, Herman Legal Group, TiE Ohio (The Immigrant Entrepreneurs)
Lee Fisher, CEO for Cities
John Barnes, Ohio House of Representatives
Joe Cimperman, Councilman, City of Cleveland
Mamie Mitchell, Councilwoman, City of Cleveland
Brian Cummins, Councilman, City of Cleveland
Max Rodas, Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center & Guatemalan Immigrant
Lute Harmon, Inside Business & Cleveland Magazine
Eduardo Gonzalez, Ferragon Corporation
Richard Romero, Latinos Magazine
Ivan Gomez, Vocero Latino
Mansfield Frazier, Neighborhood Solutions
Jan Vilcek, Vilcek Foundation
Johnny Wu, Organization of Chinese Americans- Cleveland
Donna Dabbs, Urban Film Festival
Dan Hanson, ClevelandPeople.com
Deb Hanson, ClevelandPeople.com
Alton Tinker, Society of Urban Professionals
Alan Schonberg, Ohio Israel Chamber of Commerce
Joy Roller, Global Cleveland
Ruben Castilla Herrra, LGBT LULAC
Michael Byun, Asia Service in Action
Camilo Villa, SEIU Local 1
Karin Wishner, International Services Center
Nick Torres, Latino Policy Action Network
Pierre Beijjani, Cleveland American Middle East Organization
Prakash Sinha, India International
Lucian Fogoros, Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America
Dennis Seaman, Seaman Garson
Derek Ng, China Great Lakes Innovation
Hasan Bakia, Albanian Association of Cleveland
Connie Atkins, Consortium of African American Organizations
Jonah Weinberg, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Business Center
Brian Hoffman, Innovation Ohio
Henry Guzman, HG & Associates
Gary Convertino, VP, Diversity, Cleveland Society of Human Resource Professionals
Susan Lohwater, Cuyahoga Community College
Patty Quinonez, LATINA, Inc.
Lou Acosta, Northcoast Minority Media
Arooj Ashraf, LaPrensa Newspaper
John Ramos, LULAC Ohio
Maritza Motino, LULAC Columbus
Velimir Lucic, Tomo Hibachi Restaurant & Lounge
Benny Yang, Tomo Hibachi Restauraunt & Lounge
Anthony Yen, Confucius Institute, CSU
Luis Cartagena, Young Latino Network & Convencion Hispana 2013
Sanjiv Kapur, Jones Day
Jack Story, Saving Cities
Rachel Ng, MotivAsians
Jennifer Luu, MotivAsians
Patrick Valente (TIE: The Immigrant Entrepreneur Association)
Asim Data, Federation of India Community Associations, Cleveland
Joe Nava, Cincinnati Latino Community & Unity Prime Construction
Jason Lin, Lin’s Omni Plaza
Henry Luu, Lin’s Omni Plaza
Steve Tobocman, Global Detroit
Kenneth Kovach, International Services Center, ICC
Pradip Kamat, Indus International and TIE
Angel Galvan, Galvan Concepts
Gene Sasso, Professor of Public Relations, KSU
Syed Ali, Second Chance Immigration
George Burke, International Education Consultant
Maria Galindo-Dasilvo, Hispanic Cultural Center of Cleveland
Josue Vicente, Ohio Hispanic Coalition
Joe Cole, TIE
Rico Neller, La Prensa & La Revista
Olga Sonis, US Together
Helen Tarkhenova, US Together
Gia Hoa Ryan, Friendship Foundation of American-Vietnamese
Joseph Meissner, Friendship Foundation of American-Vietnamese
Masao Yu, Taipei-Cleveland Sister City Committee
Craig Siplin, Cleveland Classic TV
Ye-Fan Glavin, China Invests in America
Alfonso Cornejo, Cincinnati Latino Community
Bharat Kumar, INDIA Festival USA
Deb Roy, INDIA FESTIVAL USA
Dina & Michael Ferrer, Coalition for Hispanic/Latino Issues & Progress
David Bowen, Richard L. Bowen & Assocs., Northeast Ohio District Export Council

Alex Machaskee
Eduardo Romero
Vi Huynh
Harry Weller
Maria Pujana
Becca Kopp
Richard Eastburn
Ratanjit Sondhe
Barbara Hawkins
Benito Lucio
Len Calabrese
Paramjit Singh
Malak Jadallah
Raj Aggarwal
Truc Cao
Gerardo Colon
Maria Colon
Joe Thomas
Elaine Tsai
Abraham Bruckman
Charmaine Rozario
Joseph Mas
Gilbert Torres Ruiz
Laura McShane
David Lubell
Michael Sreshta
Vania Stefanova
Bob Rosing
Diana Centeno-Gomez
Luis Gomez
Connie Cook
Andrew Thomas
Vivian Borromeo
Georg Abakumov
Kimberly Chen
Sandra Morgan
Jack Craciun
Ron & Anila Nicklos
Valentina Lucic
Hugo Urizar
Larry Miller
Yary Cora

Cleveland Immigration Law Reform Event
Presented by Richard Herman, Cleveland Immigration Lawyer

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Richard Herman is nationally-known immigration lawyer, immigration activist, and co-author of “Immigrant, Inc. -- Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy (and How They Will Save the American Worker)." (Wiley, 2009). Herman travels the country as a speaker for the Partnership for a New American Economy, a national coalition founded by Michael Bloomberg & Rupert Murdoch and comprised of 450 CEOs and Mayors who believe in the economic benefits of smart immigration law reform and in welcoming immigrants.