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I've just returned from a fascinating visit to Astoria, a neighborhood in Queens, New York, and arguably the most diverse neighborhood in that city, if not the nation. And it's not little ethnic pockets, but all races living and working together, and quite successfully I might add.

Steinway Street is Astoria's main commercial drag, with the usual storefronts lining either side of the street. But what struck me was that there were few, if any, vacant commercial spaces - every one was filled with some sort of commerce, and none seemed to lack customers. The Croatian travel agency was adjacent to the salon that offered spa services, which abutted the Colombian bakery; from the traditional McDonalds and Burger Kings to the steam carts serving empanadas and shish-kabobs, the tantalizing smell of food was everywhere.

Twenty years ago, this area was dominated by Greek and Italian immigrants. That has given way to a new wave: Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Latin Americans, Hispanics, Eastern Europeans, Southeast Asian Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. And contrary to our stereotypes, these immigrants are not in "traditional" businesses. I dined at an Italian restaurant owned and operated by Croatians, visited a children's furniture store aimed at Hispanics but run by Koreans. And the Indians were not all taxi drivers. This is indeed the new America, with its own vibrant capitalism that has implications for our fragile U.S. economy.

The latest figures from the INS, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, show that the overall population of foreign-born residents is changing: 20 percent come from Mexico; 14 percent from Europe; 6 percent from China; and 5.5 percent from India.

And while it may make us feel superior to think that all these immigrants are illegal and unskilled, that is not the truth. Nearly a quarter of all foreign-born residents have their bachelor's degrees, about the same as native-born Americans. Half of all foreign born residents have middle-class incomes and almost a third have incomes over $50,000, according to the Census Bureau. Further, immigrant households are on average larger than native born households, averaging 3.32 people per foreign-born households versus 2.56 persons in native-born households. Foreign-born households also have more people employed.

The value to our consumer driven economy is obvious. Immigrants see opportunity while many native-born Americans are jaded. Home ownership is a goal that is almost universally embraced by immigrants. They are not afraid of the hard work and sacrifice needed to achieve that dream. Many are coming from countries where democracy and capitalism don't exist, and while we complain about red tape and bureaucracy, they see a system that works, devoid of political corruption and graft. In short, they see the glass as half-full, while many of us see the glass as half-empty.

Since the Sept. 11, 2002 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and the recent recession, there has been a visceral backlash against immigrants - legal and illegal, skilled and unskilled. But the fact of the matter is that we are all immigrants. We all came here (save the few Native Americans that are still alive) voluntarily or involuntarily from somewhere else. We have each contributed to the success of this great nation and immigration is a matter of necessity. There are jobs in this country that many native-born Americans don't want to perform. There are many vital jobs in this country that cannot be filled without immigrants.

Take a look at these statistics compiled by the American Immigration Lawyers Association:

• The country will have a labor shortage of 4.8 million workers in 10 years, 19.7 million in 20 years and 35.8 million in 30 years.
• More than 33 million new jobs will be created between 2000 and 2010 that require little or moderate training, representing nearly 60 percent of all new job openings.
• Despite the current exodus of jobs, even manufacturing will experience labor problems, and unless we want to abdicate completely the role of being the leading manufacturing nation, immigrants will have to fill those jobs.
• If we don't use immigrants to fill the labor shortages, we'll experience at least 3 percent drops in our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over 10 years, or 17 percent over 30 years.

Currently immigrants contribute an estimated $200 billion a year to our gross domestic product and are a net economic benefit to native-born Americans to the tune of $10 billion annually. It's also important to note that immigrants made possible the economic growth of the 1990s, undocumented immigrants key among them.

Yes, we have a relatively high unemployment right now, but there are many unskilled and low-skilled jobs unfilled. If these unemployed don't want to fill those jobs, who will? Its time to drop the xenophobia and embrace those that come here to share the American dream.