Working towards sensible immigration reforM For Our State and Country
Who Is AZEIR?
Sensible Solutions
AZEIR believes sensible solutions that solve the immigration problem must come from the federal level and must address the demand for labor as much as border security. These ideas are not mutually exclusive and must be done in tandem if we are to practically address this important issue.
Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform is a grass roots organization comprised of over 400 small, medium and large businesses who believe the goal of sensible federal immigration reform is possible if the public and elected officials are informed of the facts and understand the history and successes (or lack thereof) of local and state immigration enforcement efforts.
Membership in AZEIR is open to any Arizona-based business regardless of size or number of employees. If you would like to join AZEIR, click on the Join AZEIR link at the bottom of this page.
To sign up for our mailing list, please click on the link below. It is the best way to stay current on AZEIR events, research notifications and alerts.
May 6, 2013 - Today's release by the Heritage Foundation "The Fiscal Cost of Unlawful Immigrants and Amnesty to the U.S. Taxpayer," includes many of the same problems their 2007 study that render it inaccurate and misleading and fairly useless in forwarding the debate on federal immigration reform. The report claims the net cost to the U.S. taxpayer is approximately $6.3 trillion.
"There are at least four main problems with the report," said Todd Landfried, AZEIR Executive Director.
Despite warnings from other academics and conservative organizations their chosen methodology is flawed and produces misleading conclusions, Heritage chose to use it anyway.
Their persistent use of the word "Amnesty" is clearly intended to be divisive. There is no language in S. 744 that any reasonable person who understands the issue could define as "amnesty" in even the broadest sense.
Previous studies that were done properly show that immigrants who are mainstreamed have no adverse impact on native workers, only positive impacts.
Heritage's presumption that the vast majority of immigrants come to the U.S. with the primary purpose of obtaining federal benefits ignores the historical contributions studies from The Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE) and others that immigrants and their children have made to the U.S. economy and in improving their own economic status.
"We have been waiting for the other anti-reform shoe to drop and it now has. AZEIR and other organizations will work with the local and national media to highlight the problems with the report and work to keep the debate focused on reliable and helpful data and reports that moves the immigration debate in a positive direction," said Landfried.
A bipartisan group of Senators introduced a bill to overhaul immigration laws. Co-Chair for the Real Arizona Coalition, Lisa Urias, James Garcia, owner of Creative Vistas Media, and Executive Director of Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform and Member of the Real Arizona Coalition Leadership, Todd Landfried, discuss the legislation.
AZEIR Statement on Senate Reform Outline
April 16, 2013 - Today's release of the U.S. Senate’s "Gang of Eight" outline for federal immigration reform is an excellent start. AZEIR fully supports their efforts to ensure border security, streamline the visa process, provide employers a reasonable mechanism for hiring needed workers; recovering costs and addressing those who are here without legal status. It is clear a lot of thought went into this effort.
AZEIR’s concerns center on the regulations that will be necessary to enforce the new law. What assurance do we have the problems with E-verify will be addressed? If employers follow the rule of law, will they be granted safe harbor or put at risk as they are here in Arizona? Should visa allotments be based on percentages or the demands of a free market? Why are the initial employment visa caps so low? Will stakeholders have a say in fee structures?
Tackling immigration is a thankless job and we commend Senators McCain and Flake for representing Arizona and her interests well. Our hope is they and Arizona’s entire Congressional delegation return home and meet with those who have more practical experience in these matters than nearly anyone. It’s a good start. Together, we can make it better.
Senate "Gang of Eight" Releases Immigration Reform Plan
April 16, 2013 - The work of the eight U.S. Senators to reform federal immigration laws was released today in Washington. Consisting of a framework that addresses border security, labor demands, the current undocumented population in the U.S., and visa reform, it is the first of two proposals expected to come out of Congress in the coming weeks.
AZEIR Statement on Senate Immigration Reform Framework
January 28, 2013 - A group of eight key Senate members have released a framework for sensible federal immigration reform and it shows these Senators have taken to heart not just the politics of the issue, but the concerns of those who have dealt with our broken system's problems for many years. By issuing a framework rather than a bill, the Senate has wisely giving people a starting point for a serious discussion of how we address this important issue. Now is the time to begin a national dialogue on the facts, realities and ideas for federal reforms that fit within theirs and other's frameworks for addressing this decades-old problem.
Our hope is for the country to engage in these discussions civilly and openly. AZEIR looks forward to working with other organizations, like the Real Arizona Coalition, to have these discussions in Arizona. Our previous efforts helped changed the tone of the immigration debate in Arizona and we believe the same efforts can benefit the entire country.
Arizona Business, Faith, Latino and Community Coalition Introduces The S.A.N.E. Federal Immigration Reform Platform
December 5, 2012 - For more than two years, and with the recent participation from The O’Connor House, a wide and diverse array of Real Arizona Coalition members (including AZEIR) and state leaders have met regularly in a robust exchange of ideas to give shape to a platform on federal immigration reform.
The resulting achievement is a broad consensus called the S.A.N.E. Solution to Federal Immigration Reform. It is a platform based principally on respecting and acknowledging the contributions of the approximate 11 million immigrants here now without lawful authority, an understanding that many businesses and industries presently rely on this existing undocumented immigrant labor force, and the recognition that the continued and ongoing commercial and labor interests of state and national businesses require a rational and pragmatic immigration policy going forward. The S.A.N.E. platform is a starting point for a reasoned and balanced approach to addressing the shortcomings of America’s broken immigration system.
"S.A.N.E. is a direct outcome of AZEIR's Immigration Solutions Conferences," said AZEIR Executive Director Todd Landfried. "The ideas and information shared at those events helped change the tone of the immigration discussion in Arizona to the extent that 20 months after our legislature passed SB1070 leaders from across the political, business, faith and community spectrum came together to develop a reasonable set of guiding principles for immigration reform. Without these conferences and showing people civil dialogue on immigration is possible, I don't think we would have been able to achieve this significant milestone. S.A.N.E. shows Arizona can lead on immigration reform in a very positive manner. Now it's up to Congress."
The Immigration Policy Council has released their updated report "The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in the Grand Canyon State." Get the report and obtain the fact sheets for Arizona and the other 50 states.
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Of course we're social! Get the latest immigration reform news and information and connect with other professionals interested in sensible reforms on AZEIR's Facebook page.
AZEIR's Arizona Immigration Solutions Conferences
Arizona Immigration Solutions Conference At Rio Salado College (Top left) and Flagstaff High Country Center (Top Right) Mesa at Mesa Community College (Center Right), Tucson (Bottom Left) and Yuma at Arizona Western College (Bottom Right).
The purpose of the Arizona Immigration Solutions Conference (AISC) was to open a thoughtful and informed public dialogue about our state's immigration policies. It asked two simple yet responsible questions: "are Arizona's strategies working?" and "if not, then what should we be doing to address the problem?" To answer these questions, the AISC brings in nationally known researchers, state and local elected officials, business owners and community and faith leaders to look closely at how we're doing and ask tough questions about whether we're spending our resources wisely, where we're headed and examine new and different solutions. It is non-partisan, non-judgmental and fact-based.
The first three conferences were held at Rio Salado College in Tempe in May, Flagstaff in August, Mesa in September, Tucson in October, and the final in Yuma in mid-November. These conferences were sponsored by AZEIR along with sponsors, The Real Arizona Coalition, One Arizona/Interfaith Leaders and local business groups.
Information from previous conferences can be found at these links:
Over past few years, AZEIR has had the opportunity to address community and business groups throughout Arizona and help shed some light as to the facts of immigration and immigrants and their impact on all aspects of the economy. The following Online presentations were developed to be used to educate the public business owners and elected officials. Feel free to share these with your friends and business associates.
If you would like an AZIER representative to speak to your business or community group, please
send us an email. Please be aware we are not able to accommodate all requests.
NCLR Presentation of Economic Damage of SB1070-Type Laws Available
July 8, 2012 - AZEIR is pleased to make Executive Director Todd Landfried's presentation from Sunday's featured session titled "A Defining Moment: The Supreme Court's Arizona Decision and Beyond." His talk focused on the economic damage laws like Arizona's SB1070 have had on other cities, counties and states and why these types of laws are not the answer to our nation's immigration problems. The presentation can be viewed and downloaded here.
AZEIR In The States
As other states have began introducing Arizona-style immigration bills, chambers of commerce, business trade organizations and community groups began to look to AZEIR for suggestion in how to best educate elected officials and the public about the practical impacts these laws have on the business community and the economy. By contacting AZEIR and working with other organizations who share similar objectives of sensible immigration legislation, AZEIR was able to help these states warn legislators and business owners about the impacts and steer them towards more practical approaches, particularly at the federal level. Below is a list of the state where AZEIR has testified before their state legislatures.
We were fortunate to have been able to influence sensible changes or defeat of Arizona-style bills in each of these states.
If you would like to see if AZEIR can help you put together fact-based informational programs for your state, please contact us by
sending us an email. We will be happy to see how we may be able to assist you in promoting sensible immigration efforts in your state.
