White House proposes rule to welcome immigrant entrepreneurs

The Obama administration proposed a rule on Friday aimed at attracting thousands of immigrant entrepreneurs to start companies in the United States.

The rule, proposed by the Department of Homeland Security, would ease the ability of startup founders to build companies if they have significant funding from U.S. investors.

The administration hopes the rule will be completed before President Barack Obama’s term ends on Jan. 20.

The proposed rule is part of Obama’s commitment to “attracting the world’s best and brightest entrepreneurs to start the next great companies here,” Tom Kalil, a technology policy adviser at the White House, told reporters in a call.

Kalil said immigrants have co-founded as many as one in four high-tech startups across the United States and more than half of all startups in Silicon Valley.

Immigration has been a crucial issue in the 2016 presidential campaign ahead of the Nov. 8 election. Republican candidate Donald Trump has vowed to toughen immigration policies, while Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has proposed creating an office of immigrant affairs to expand Obama’s efforts to help immigrants integrate better into the country. Read more…