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Business Coalitions Move Into New States to Push Today’s Rocky Mountain News reports on the formation of Colorado Employers for Immigration Reform (http://www.coeir.org). According to the story, the coalition will officially launch next Wednesday at the Adams Mark Hotel in Denver. A spokesperson, Kristen Fefes, executive director of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, said the members would be drawn from a number of industries, including farming, construction, hotels and restaurants. This is just the latest business coalition to form. The Texas Employers for Immigration Reform (http://www.txeir.org/), has been running an ad on cable and broadcast television across Texas with business owners attesting to the need for workers if their businesses are to remain successful. Bill Hammond, President of the Texas Association of Businesses, a TXEIR member, expressed his desire for comprehensive immigration reform when quoted in a Waco Tribune editorial earlier this month. “If we want to maintain a vibrant and healthy economy into the future and meet the needs of employers and the customers of this state, we need to have a reliable source of immigrant labor.” – Waco Tribune editorial, “Business leaders want immigration reform,” April 2, 2007 Florida Employers for Immigration and Visa Reform (http://www.feir.org/), based in Tallahassee, was formed in February and lists 49 businesses and trade associations as members on its website. Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform (http://www.azeir.org/) was the topic of a recent column by Ernest Portillo Jr. in the Arizona Daily Star. He quoted farmer Richard Walden and AZEIR spokesman Farrell Quinlan “While some employers do exploit undocumented workers, who have no legal protection, Walden said the federal government has abdicated its role in creating workable immigration laws. Responsible employers insist they cannot determine a person’s legal residency without a near foolproof system…‘Employers want a reliable legal work force,’ Quinlan said.” – Arizona Daily Star columnist Ernesto Portillo Jr., “Businesses join fight for immigration law,” April 8, 2007 Business coalitions like these are in the formation stages in other states where a legal flow of workers is critical to economic growth and competitiveness. Read on for the complete Rocky Mountain News, Waco Tribune and Arizona Daily Star stories. (Tucson) ARIZONA DAILY STAR: Businesses join fight for immigration lawOpinion by Ernesto Portillo Jr. Richard Walden's family has been farming in Southern Arizona for about 60 years. He's fluent in Spanish and, with his wife, Nan Walden, they head up Farmers Investment Co., operators of 4,500 acres of pecan groves near Green Valley, plus two other sites in Arizona and Georgia. These days, in addition to overseeing more than 240 employees who receive benefits and a 401(k) savings plan, the Waldens are on a statewide mission along with other employers, business groups and individuals. The Waldens are pushing to reform our country's busted immigration laws. They understand the need for a sensible and realistic policy that would allow foreign workers to legally enter the country. Our aging population will rely more on foreign workers to sustain a healthy national economy, Walden said. "We need to do it," he said. As Congress prepares for a second consecutive year of hearings and debates on immigration policy and how to reduce illegal immigration, the state's businesses and organizations are raising their voices louder and clearer. Walden is part of Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform, a coalition of business and trade associations. Nationally business organizations have partnered with humanitarian and religious groups, immigrants' rights groups and labor unions — not your usual political alliance — to try to persuade Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Wednesday, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords hosted a meeting with local and state business leaders to talk about immigration and STRIVE Act 2007, a new proposal introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. Giffords, a freshman Democrat in District 8, is an original co-sponsor of the bill. The legislation's key components are increased border enforcement, a guest-worker program and a path to legal residency and citizenship for some of the estimated 12 million-plus undocumented immigrants currently in the country. Giffords told the business audience the bill is the best proposal and has a good chance of receiving congressional approval. If Congress doesn't pass immigration legislation by the fall, Giffords said new immigration legislation will be shelved as the country enters the 2008 presidential election cycle. Giffords, after the meeting, said businesses have to play a larger role in immigration reform. Farrell Quinlan, a spokesman for the Arizona employers' group, said the act doesn't satisfy all concerns of all constituent groups, but it's acceptable. Walden, Quinlan and the employers' group believe immigration reform cannot be done by law enforcement alone and businesses should not have to play the role of deciding who can or cannot work legally in this country. They insist businesses need a reliable national worker verification program. From Payson to Phoenix to Pennsylvania, cities and states are imposing stricter penalties on employers who are found to have hired undocumented workers. The federal government has stepped up workplace raids, arresting some business owners and disrupting hundreds of families of undocumented workers. American employers are often accused of "enabling" illegal immigration. If only employers stopped hiring low-paid undocumented workers, illegal immigration would cease, goes the argument. While some employers do exploit undocumented workers, who have no legal protection, Walden said the federal government has abdicated its role in creating workable immigration laws. Responsible employers insist they cannot determine a person's legal residency without a near foolproof system. Without it, employers will likely resort to hiring on the basis of skin color and ethnicity, which would open them to charges of racial discrimination. "Employers want a reliable legal work force," Quinlan said. Contact columnist Ernesto Portillo at 573-4242 or eportillo@azstarnet.com.
WACO TRIBUNE (Editorial): Business leaders want immigration reformMonday, April 02, 2007 Waco business leaders got a sneak peek at a televised advertising campaign designed to convince Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Although the United States has long needed sweeping changes in its immigration laws, the issue keeps getting sidetracked by narrow reforms that favor border walls and punishment. This narrow approach ignores the nation’s need of a reliable, legal, immigrant work force, The ad campaign preview watched by the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, the Waco Business League and several local businesses was provided by Texas Employers for Immigration Reform, a statewide group of trade organizations and business owners. Cable and TV network stations will begin airing the ads today. The point Texas business leaders want to get across to Congress members is that the state needs the workers that can be provided by comprehensive immigration reform legislation. “If we want to maintain a vibrant and healthy economy into the future and meet the needs of employers and the customers of this state, we need to have a reliable source of immigrant labor,” said Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business. Hammond is meeting with business leaders across Texas to support for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that includes a guest worker program to meet the needs of Texas employers. At a Thursday meeting of the State Affairs and Border and International Affairs committees, Waco economist Ray Perryman told lawmakers that undocumented workers have a $301 million economic impact in Texas. He said about 1.5 million illegal immigrants live in Texas, representing about 6 percent of the workforce, and are an integral part of the Texas economy. “I think we need to bring them out in the open,” Perryman was quoted in an American-Statesman news story. President Bush supports a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes a guest worker program. A bipartisan bill to do just that has been introduced in House. Congress needs to pass a meaningful immigration reform bill.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS: Firms form immigration coalitionBy Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News A broad range of Colorado employers have formed a coalition aimed at lobbying Congress for a guest-worker program and other changes in immigration policies. The group, known as "Colorado Employers for Immigration Reform," will officially launch the new organization on Wednesday. Participation is open to any employer in the state. "It's several industries coming together," said Kristen Fefes, executive director of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, a trade group. Fefes, who is helping to organize the effort, said the group has been working with a lot of associations to get the coalition up and running. More details will be announced next week, she said. The group's Web site said members will come from an array of industries, including farming, construction, hotels and restaurants. "COEIR's immediate and critical mission is to secure thoughtful and comprehensive immigration reform in the 110th Congress," according to the group's Web site. The coalition has looked to a similar group in Texas as the model for its organization. Launch meeting The Colorado Employers for Immigration Reform will hold a meeting for interested employers from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Adam's Mark Hotel in downtown Denver. Information: coeir.org.
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