One half of the six American Nobel Prize winners in science were immigrants. Omar M. Yaghi, who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry, was born in Jordan and grew up in a small room along with the family cattle. Dr. Yaghi’s family were refugees from Gaza. He came to upstate New York as a teenager, where he began his career in research. He supported himself by “bagging groceries and mopping floors” while working on multiple projects, eventually getting his Ph.D. and becoming a professor. In many ways, his story embodies the American Dream. He was born far away to a poor family and used the resources of the United States to both improve his own life and contribute to science.
When asked what his first reaction was to learning he had won the Nobel Prize, he said, “Astonished, delighted, overwhelmed.”
I was struck by this passage from this interview with Dr. Yaghi from Adam Smith:
Omar Yaghi: I think my father finished sixth grade and my mother couldn’t read and write. So it’s quite a journey, and science allows you to do it. I mean, science is the greatest equalizing force in the world.
Adam Smith: Yes, indeed. And it’s a testament to the fact that talent exists everywhere, if one just gives it some opportunity to thrive.
Omar Yaghi: I agree. I agree. Smart people, talented people, skilled people exist everywhere. That’s why we really should focus on unleashing their potential through providing them with opportunity.
The other immigrant Nobel Prize winners this year were John Clarke, who was born in the United Kingdom, and Michel H. Devoret, born in France. They share the Nobel Prize in physics with U.S.-born John M. Martinis “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.”
The two other Americans who have won the Nobel prize this year are Mary E. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell, in physiology or medicine, “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance”
This year’s Nobel cohort is not an anomaly, but part of a long-standing trend. In 2023, four of the six American recipients of Nobel Prizes in medicine, chemistry and physics were immigrants, and in 2021, three of the four U.S. winners were immigrants.
Since the founding of the Nobel Prize in 1901, immigrants have been awarded 36 percent of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine, and physics. Immigrants have won 40 percent of all U.S. Nobel Prizes in science since 2000, despite making up just 15 percent of the population.
America’s scientific preeminence is built on its ability to attract, retain, and empower global talent.
Why America wins
Talent mobility is essential to America’s scientific dominance. Top researchers and students come for the collaborative culture and world-leading infrastructure.
The journey of a Nobel scientist is rarely linear. Many arrived as international students, others through specialized work visas such as the H-1B, which is now threatened by steep fees and quotas. When legal immigration restrictions tighten, the risk is not only to individuals, but to the entire ecosystem of innovation that fuels American prosperity.
Recent changes under the Trump administration—including proposals to limit entry of international students, a $100,000 application fee for skilled visas, and more general regulatory uncertainty—have created new hurdles for scientists who might otherwise choose America as their home and base for their research. Such restrictions echo earlier moments in U.S. history, like the quotas of the 1920s, which economists have shown reduced American innovation for decades.
Policymakers must recognize that winning the global race for scientific achievement hinges on keeping the door open for talent. The United States built its post-war era of scientific dominance by welcoming those fleeing conflict, seeking opportunity, or aiming to tackle the world’s hardest problems.
The discoveries of immigrant scientists are not confined to the laboratory or to universities; they effect the lives of Americans in other occupations and all walks of life. For example, Dr. Yaghi’s work involves potential inventions into clean drinking water. Devoret, Clarke, and Martinis’ work improves medical imaging. Albert Sabin, who won the National Medal of Science in 1970, worked on developing the oral polio vaccine after coming to the United States as a refugee from Poland.
When America welcomes talent, it wins in global prizes in innovation and reaps consequent benefits in prosperity. The American track record in Nobel Prize wins is an argument for policies rooted in collaboration and creating opportunity.