Business & the Workforce
Microsoft, Experts Stress Need for High-Skilled Immigration in Senate Committee Hearing
While the House Judiciary Committee focused on a very different part of immigration yesterday, its Senate counterpart held a hearing on “The Economic Imperative for Enacting Immigration Reform.” In the hearing, witnesses testified that immigration reform that makes it easier for high-skilled immigrants to come work in the U.S. is not only good policy, but an economic necessity. Brad Smith, General Counsel and Senior VP for Legal and Corporate Affairs at Microsoft testified that smart immigration reform could create more jobs for American workers, something the economy needs as our nation struggles to recover from the recession. Read More
U.S. Commerce Secretaries Highlight Economic Benefits of Immigration Reform
As the American economy continues to level out post-recession, some experts are looking at immigration reform as a way to help start new businesses and aid job creation. A recent letter from U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez outlined the economic benefits of reforming our immigration system and, consequently, the possible further detriment to our economy if Congress fails to act. Read More
Oregon Business Community Latest to Join Fight Against National E-Verify Bill
This week, business and agricultural communities across the U.S. continued the fight against mandatory E-verify, an electronic verification system requiring employers to use a federal database to verify the immigration status of employees. Over the weekend, thousands of protestors marched on Georgia’s state capitol to protest HB 87—a bill which contains mandatory E-Verify—adding their voice to the state’s agricultural community's who fear the program will leave them without enough migrant workers to harvest crops. This week, a group of Oregon businesses joined the campaign against an enforcement-only E-Verify bill (H.R. 2164) introduced by immigration hawk Rep. Lamar Smith’s (R-TX) last month. The group called Rep. Smith’s measure a “recipe for disaster.” Read More
Restrictive Immigration Law Continues to Threaten Georgia’s Farming Industry
Just days after part of Georgia’s immigration law, HB 87, went into effect, farmers in the Peach State are panicking over how they will find enough workers to harvest their crops—some of which are already starting to spoil. Although a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction enjoining two key provisions of HB 87 last month, the provision requiring employers to verify the immigration status of new hires (E-Verify) went into effect July 1. In an industry where 80% of workers are said to be undocumented—and few American citizens, legal workers or even convicted criminals are willing to step in to do the work—Georgia farmers are now speaking up about how future labor shortages will impact the state’s $1.1 billion industry. Read More
New Americans Are Among the Nation’s Top Entrepreneurs, Report Says
Anyone who fails to recognize that immigration fuels a sizable chunk of the U.S. economy would be well-advised to read the report released this week by the Partnership for a New American Economy, entitled The “New American” Fortune 500. According to the report, two in five Fortune 500 companies (41%) “had at least one founder who was either an immigrant or raised by someone who immigrated to the United States.” Collectively, these companies had $4.2 trillion in annual revenues and employed 10.9 million people worldwide. This is compelling evidence, argues the report, that “immigrants and their children create American jobs and drive our economy.” Yet, the report concludes, our immigration laws all too often force immigrant workers and entrepreneurs away, rather than welcoming them. As New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently put it, that amounts to “national suicide.” Read More
Research Shows Immigrant Entrepreneurs Leaving the U.S. to Become Our Competition
Restrictionists often perpetuate the myth that immigrants are not needed in our current economy—that they take jobs and hurt American workers. But research has shown that immigrants not only grow the economy, but help create jobs and are part of the solution to our economic woes. However, while immigrants can create jobs and start new businesses here in the U.S., they’re choosing to do it somewhere else in recent years due to our complicated and dysfunctional immigration system. Read More
How U.S. Integration Policies Stack up Against Other Countries
Today, immigration policy analysts discussed the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX)—a survey which measures the immigration and integration policies of 31 nations—as well as the survey’s implications for integration policy in the U.S. Overall, the U.S ranked 9th out of the 31 countries surveyed, but first in terms of its strong anti-discrimination laws and protections. Compared with other countries, legal immigrants in the U.S. enjoy employment opportunities, educational opportunities, and the opportunity to reunite with close family members. However, MIPEX also acknowledges that the U.S.’s complex immigration laws, limited visa availability, high fees, and long backlogs may make it challenging for immigrants to integrate into the fabric of American life—a challenge best tackled by comprehensive reform. Read More
Get Out Your Wallets, Georgians! State Lawmakers Pass Costly Immigration Measure
Despite the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to uphold a preliminary injunction against provisions of Arizona’s SB 1070 earlier this week, state lawmakers in Georgia passed their own version of Arizona’s law (HB 87) last night, which allows police to investigate the immigration status of certain suspects and requires businesses to verify work eligibility of new hires, but not without controversy. Like other states, Georgia lawmakers mulled provisions of their enforcement-only immigration bills—provisions Georgia’s business community fears will hurt the state’s farming and restaurant industries and advocacy groups fear will lead to racial profiling. Some groups are even planning an economic boycott of Georgia—a boycott similar to Arizona’s which is still costing the state. Read More
Farming Industry Urges State Lawmakers to Kill Costly Immigration Measures
For months, the business community and farming industry have warned state lawmakers that immigration enforcement legislation will hurt state economies, pointing to Arizona’s economic crash-and-burn as a prime example. This week, however, a group of agricultural leaders in Georgia upped the ante, sending a letter to state lawmakers urging them to consider just how much enforcement measures will cost the state. Georgia is one of the few remaining states (Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee) still contemplating Arizona-style enforcement measures. Meanwhile, advocates, legislators and business leaders in other states continue to warn lawmakers that these enforcement measures will cost their state much-needed revenue and jobs. Read More
Immigrant Entrepreneurs May Speed Up Our Economic Recovery
As America’s economic recovery continues to be a national priority, leaders on both sides of the aisle are finally beginning to look at reforming our nation’s immigration system as a strategy for promoting job creating and growth. President Obama commented in his State of the Union Address that instead of expelling immigrants, we should make it easier for them to start new businesses. This Monday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) commented that “if bringing in high-skilled workers from abroad helps us keep thousands of jobs here in America, our antiquated laws should not be a barrier.” And in a bipartisan effort last week, Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Mark Udall (D-CO), and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the StartUp Visa Act of 2011 (Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has also joined as a co-sponsor). The bill is intended to “drive job creation and increase America’s global competitiveness by helping immigrant entrepreneurs secure visas to the United States.” Read More
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