U.S. assistance in the shape of a real partnership is crucial for the region’s success, writes AS/COA’s Nancy Anderson for U.S. News & World Report.

Small immigrant-run businesses provide more than just convenient local services, they also boost the national economy, shows a new report by AS/COA and the Fiscal Policy Institute.

Julián Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio and current secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, draws attention to an AS/COA and Partnership for a New American Economy study on the contributions of immigrants to the U.S. economy and housing wealth.

“One would expect, with everything else that’s happening [in US-Cuba relations], that migration policy would have to regularize… though this process won’t happen overnight,” comments COA’s Eric Farnsworth.

COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth explains the value of sustained U.S. engagement with Latin America.

From 2000-2013, immigrants accounted for 48 percent of the overall growth of business ownership in the United States, uncovers the latest AS/COA and Fiscal Policy Institute report.