As lawmakers in the United States try to formulate a new immigration policy, a new report underlines the economic benefits that can come from welcoming the foreign-born into America. The report, released today by the Kaufman Foundation, shows that in 2012 US immigrants were nearly twice as likely to start businesses each month as native born Americans. However, while the native-born rate has remained relatively level, the immigrant rate fell in both of the last two years.

The study measures the rate of individuals creating businesses each month as a percentage of adult, non-business owners at the start of each month. The index captures the formation of both incorporated and unincorporated businesses irrespective of the number of jobs created, where the business is the creator’s main job.