Immigrants to the US have played increasingly influential roles in science and engineering advancements, according to a report by the National Foundation for American Policy, a research organization focused on immigration, international trade, and other issues related to globalization and the economy. The Chicago Tribune reports specifically on the report's findings that a third of US Nobel Prize winners (since 1960) in chemistry, medicine, and physics are immigrants, but the report (in PDF here) also looks at other ways immigrants have contributed in these fields, including to cancer research, entrepreneurship, and, well, military attack drones (whether that is a positive contribution is under debate). The take away:

The research illustrates that the right laws can play an important part in whether a country benefits from increased globalization...While some of the rise in indicators like immigrant Nobel Prize winners reflects an overall increase in the reputation and capability of American institutions and researchers post-1960, a greater openness to immigration helped make the United States the leading global destination for research in many different science and technology fields, including computers, cancer research and many others.

Indeed, the Tribune notes that the National Foundation for American Policy "hopes the research shows the contributions of immigrants in important fields will bolster the chances for the passage of immigration reform, which has been mired in Congress this term."