The Georgia Chamber of Commerce joined more than 400 business groups and companies nationwide in sending a letter to Congress Tuesday, calling for the passage of immigration overhaul legislation.
Google, Microsoft and Facebook are among the heavy hitters that signed the letter along with the Georgia Green Industry Association, Technology Association of Georgia and the Cordele-Crisp Chamber of Commerce.
The letter doesn’t say what specific legislation they want passed. But it does say the nation’s immigration system is “outdated” and “broken” and that overhauling it would boost the economy.
“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.,” says the letter, which is addressed to Republican House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
The U.S. Senate passed omnibus immigration legislation last month. Among other things, the Senate bill would allow businesses to hire more high-skilled foreign workers and agricultural workers. It seeks to unclog the legal immigration system. And it would set up a 13-year route to citizenship for the estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the U.S.
House Republican leaders have said they won’t take up the Senate legislation and will instead consider smaller and more narrowly focused bills, some focused on immigration enforcement.
“The speaker has been clear that we need to fix our broken immigration system,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner. “The House is working on step-by-step, commonsense reforms to do just that.”
Critics dispute the idea that the nation has a shortage of skilled workers. They also worry the Senate legislation would displace U.S. workers.
“The sort of policies that business interests have been advocating for [are ones] that would perhaps enhance their bottom lines but not necessarily serve the best interests of the nation,” said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington-based organization that supports reduced immigration levels.
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