; Whereas celebrating racial, ethnic, linguistic, and religious differences of immigrants has resulted in a unified, patriotic, and prosperous Nation; Whereas immigration has long been one of America’s greatest competitive advantages; Whereas immigrants of all skill levels have helped make the economy of the United States the strongest in the world, complementing existing American businesses in times of need and founding successful businesses of their own; Whereas although only accounting for 13.5 percent (40,000,000) of the total population of the United States, nearly half of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children, which has created over $6,000,000,000,000 in annual revenue and employs millions of Americans; Whereas 72.5 percent of immigrants believe that hard work is necessary to succeed in America and are responsible for half of the total labor force growth in the United States over the last decade; Whereas 62.2 percent of immigrants aged 16 and older (as opposed to 58.1 percent of native-born Americans) were employed; Whereas immigrants are entrepreneurial, self-starters who create their own opportunity and employment opportunities for others with 7.6 percent of immigrants being self-employed compared to 5.6 percent of native-born Americans; Whereas immigrant-owned businesses provide jobs across the United States, respectively employing an average of 11 employees; Whereas immigrants are more likely to have college degrees than native-born Americans and are more likely to have advanced degrees; Whereas our high-skilled immigration system has not been updated in over 25 years, and is now outdated and overburdened, putting our global leadership at risk