At a time when public conversations about immigration have become increasingly polarized, it’s worth pausing to remember the many ways immigrants and refugees strengthen Illinois every day. These jobs are expected to experience some of the “highest growth rates in the next decade, second only to healthcare jobs.” Let’s look at the numbers: In Illinois, the share of STEM workers who are immigrants is 24.3% (“Immigrants in Illinois,” American Immigration Council website). What many people don’t realize is that immigrants have already been filling some of our most obvious and undisputable healthcare needs. For example:-In Illinois, immigrants are “twice as likely as the U.S.-born to work as home health aides, and twice as likely to work as physicians and surgeons.”