Planting New Roots as Immigrants

Adnan Zai
5 min readNov 4, 2022

While the United States is still battling it out about what to do with the myriad of immigrants that cross the border, flying some to New England and bussing others to random locations, immigrants are busy doing business in found countries around the globe. Interestingly, the United Kingdom has a very different take on immigrants. Rather than being shuffled around or used as political pawns, the immigrants in the UK are shaping the local and federal government, and also making a name for themselves on the list of wealthiest people. This interesting phenomenon is changing the way people do business in the United Kingdom and beyond. And it also begs the question: When someone emigrates to a country, what can they and their ancestors do down the line to shape the country in which they land?

A Prime Minister With Roots in India

The immigration sensation starts at the top, with Rishi Sunak a descendant of Indian immigrants. Recently coming to power as the third Prime Minister in the United Kingdom in two months, he has his work cut out for him amid economic and political turmoil, especially after the damage done by Liz Truss and Boris Johnson. His experience as a hedge fund manager will serve him well in this role, but it will take a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to right the ship that has been abandoned by Truss.

The new Prime Minister has a lot of good qualities and is already moving the country in the right direction. He also seems like he would be a good advocate for the cause of immigrants. Sunak said, “Only by conforming to the demands of the pre-existing establishment will race or color no longer matter in Britain.” Although a seemingly positive remark for the cause of immigrants, as he gained more political power, Sunak was proud to point out his pride in his status as an immigrant, even doing so in an early campaign video.

Now that he is leading, however, it seems like he may have forgotten where he has come from. “Since running for prime minister, Sunak has also vowed to implement a variety of anti-immigration policies that would see the ‘chance of a better future’ he received not extended to others.”

One of Sunak’s plans calls for immigrants to be shipped off to Rwanda if they try to enter. “In another inhumane plan, Sunak proposed

Adnan Zai

As an Advisor-In-Residence, Adnan particularly focuses on strategy, deal pipeline, and structuring.