Additional Appeal for Congressional Immigration Reform
This week, a group of about 430 organizations sent a letter to House Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi urging Congressto enact legislation for immigration reform.
Undersigned organizations include: Paramount Farms, Adobe,California Chamber of Commerce, California Cotton Ginners Association, California Farm Bureau Federation, Sweet Potato Council of California, California Grape and Tree Fruit League, Oracle, California Strawberry Commission, Intel Corporation, Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, and Sun-Maid Growers of California
The letter reads, “Reform of an outdated, broken immigration system is essential if we are to achieve a fully revitalized economy that provides and accelerates rewarding and lasting jobs and opportunities for all Americans.” . . . “We deal with an immigration system that is now in its third decade and completely incapable of being responsive to an ever-changing national economy and hypercompetitive global marketplace.”
Leaders urge reform at a critical time when U.S. economic growth has struggled to recover. “Done right, reform will also serve to protect and complement our U.S. workforce, generating greater productivity and economic activity that will lead to new innovations, products, businesses, and jobs in communities across the U.S.”
“Problems with our immigration system have grown and multiplied to become an emerging threat to the current and future productivity, ingenuity, and competitiveness of key sectors of our economy, including
agriculture,” among others.
The letter urges Congress NOT to watch a generation-old immigration system work against the overall national interest. Rather it calls for Congress to recognize the clear benefits of immigration reform to the economy’s success and to collaborate to achieve pro-growth reform.
As stated in the letter, “Failure to act is not an option.”