Jeremy Robbins is the executive director at New American Economy, a bipartisan coalition of more than 500 CEOs and mayors making the economic case for immigration reform. Jeremy previously worked as a policy advisor and special counsel in the Office of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Robert Sack of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and as a litigation associate at WilmerHale in Boston where, along with working on general corporate litigation matters, he was part of the firm’s team representing six Bosnian men detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Jeremy received a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. in political science from Brown University.
Featured Writings and Talks
"Immigration may be the biggest -- and least expected -- legislative victory this year" Fox News; Trump says the proposed immigration bill will raise wages for Americans. It won’t” Washington Post; “Jeremy Robbins joins Fox Business's Stuart Varney to discuss the proposed RAISE Act” Fox Business's Varney & Company; “GOP immigration proposal slashes newcomers, but who does it help?” MSNBC LIVE with Alex Witt
Jeremy Robbins on...
What it Means to Be American:
"There are two strains running through America right now, one is what it means to be America, it's about an idea. The idea of equality of opportunity or equality general, this is a country that welcomes people.
Then there's another, it's a lot about history. It's more backward looking to who America was or where America was."
The Costs and Benefits
"... immigration is writ large a very good thing for America, but those gains aren't spread equally. I think that immigrants benefit the economy hugely, but they benefit certain segments of the economy hugely. And there are costs that come with immigrants. There are costs that come with anyone."
Global Competition
"Increasingly countries around the world are realizing that and they're starting entrepreneur’s visas in all these countries. Their sell isn't, look how great it is to come to Chile and start a business, or even in Canada, look how great it is in Canada. Their sell essentially, like you can't get to the U.S., so come here."
What Scares People About Immigration:
"I do think that there is a central tension between a part of society that really values pluralism and diversity and thinks that that is a good, and a part of society that is worried that that is taking away from the central tenet of why a melting pot should be a good thing to a lot of Americans because it seems that it is, you are coming here, you're adding to America, but you've got to become American. The idea that you're going to change what it means to be American is threatening to a lot of people."
Moderator
