
While there has been a strong nationwide push for immigration reform from various organizations, one of the biggest supporters for comprehensive reform has been the United States Chamber of Commerce.
The new website, entitled “The American Opportunity – Making Immigration Work,” details how our current immigration system is broken, and why the American business community needs comprehensive immigration reform.
The Chamber notes that the four goals they’d like to see in immigration reform are to have our borders be secure, to strengthen our nation’s global competitiveness through work visa programs for jobs of all skill levels, to create a reliable national employment verification system and to solidify America’s legacy as an open and welcoming nation.
While the Chamber stops short of demanding a full and direct path to citizenship for our nation’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, the fact remains that the Chamber is dedicating its efforts to pushing for comprehensive immigration reform.
Our own Pat Young wrote in late February about a key agreement reached between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO). The parties were able to reach a deal on allowing temporary workers into the U.S.
The business community in the United States, as well as here on Long Island, would benefit greatly from comprehensive immigration reform, as our elected officials and business leaders said this Monday during our “Economic Benefits of Immigration Reform” panel discussion. We need to continue to push our elected officials and Congress to act now.