There are some who think that microfinancing could be the answer to U.S. immigrant integration. Microfinancing is a school of economic thought that believes financial services could help the world’s poor rise above their poverty and, at the same time, boost the global economy. Microfinancing provides services to the poor such as loans, credit, savings accounts, insurance, and small business assistance.The idea itself faces many difficulties for financial institutions that are in business to make a profit. Extending their money into many small loans and accounts not only presents high risks but takes more work to maintain than fewer, larger loans. Consequently, microfinancing has been largely taken up by charitable, humanitarian organizations, however, most microfinancing institutions stress that charity is not the answer and maintain the only accountability and responsibility will help the world’s poor ascend from their condition. There is much evidence that microfinancing has a tremendous positive impact on the world’s poverty-stricken population. For example, Grameen Bank in Bangladesh offers credit, savings accounts, and financing options for over 7 million of Bangladesh’s poorest women, has posted consistent profits, and won a Nobel Peace Prize for “their efforts to create economic and social development from below.”

Even in the U.S., the world’s wealthiest country, microfinancing institutions have emerged to assist the country’s poor—and generally the poorest American’s are low-skilled immigrants. An organization operating in Massachusetts called Families United in Educational Leadership (FUEL), founded by Bob Hildreth, provides savings accounts for Massachusetts’ poorest families, nearly half of which are immigrants and at least half of those are illegal immigrants. The accounts are intended for these families’ children’s education. FUEL matches the amount deposited by the families and offers training programs on how to acquire government grants, loans, and scholarships and hosts fundraising events. As a result of FUEL, hundreds of poor children have gone to college and 25 scholarships are offered by Massachusetts colleges and universities to FUEL families. Hildreth realized that microfinancing works when, after an illegal immigrant raid, Hildreth posted half the cost of bonds for 40 detained illegal immigrants, a cost of $120,000. Every family paid him back in full, despite being quite poor.

Insurance giant AIG has partnered with Microfinance International to offer low-cost life, disability, and unemployment insurance to immigrants. The AIG package costs between $10 and $20 a month and includes international money transfers—a huge draw for immigrants—a Visa card, insurance, and microloans. ACCION USA, a microfinance institution founded by the son of an Ecuadorian immigrant, offers loans and financing to small businesses and startups. ACCION USA has loaned over $120 million in 20,000 individual loans.

Microfinancing for immigrants appeals to the sector of the U.S. citizenry that believes immigrants can help the U.S. rather than hurt it. And many microfinancing institutions remind their critics that almost everyone who came to the U.S. did so as a poor immigrant and that immigrants tend to be motivated, hard-working individuals. Furthermore, microfinancing does not only help immigrants, it could help the environment through clean energy investments such as the Foundation for Development Cooperation, and assist the poor become educated, freeing them from the cycle of poverty.