Ag Policy Blog

Failure to act on immigration reform "is not an option" more than 400 business an agricultural groups wrote Tuesday to House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

The co-signing businesses and groups reflected a broad range of interests, including the American Meat Institute , AT&T, Microsoft, NASDAQ, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Council of Agricultural Employers.

"Reform of an outdated, broken immigration system is essential if we are to achieve a fully revitalized economy that provides rewarding and lasting jobs and opportunities for all Americans," the groups wrote.

The House has received the Senate immigration bill approved in June, but continues working on its response through the House Judiciary Committee. The House, which may not take up an immigration bill until October, is considering a more piecemeal approach with several bills meant to accomplish what the Senate passed in one major piece of legislation.

The business groups urged action in their letter, arguing immigration reform would help stimulate the economy.

"Thought leaders from across the ideological spectrum agree that enacting immigration reform now will accelerate U.S. economic growth at a critical time when it has struggled to recover, and will help to enable sustained growth for decades to come. 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.

"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. Today, the 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, housing, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, tourism, engineering, and technology.

"We are united in the belief that we can and must do better for our economy and country by modernizing our immigration system. We already have been engaged with many members of Congress --Republicans and Democrats -- on numerous components of a modern immigration system, and we urge that you not let this momentum slip and progress vanish."

"Failure to act is not an option. We can’t afford to be content and watch a generation-old immigration system work more and more against our overall national interest. Instead, we urge Congress to remain mindful of the clear benefits to our economy if we succeed, and work together and with us to achieve real, pro-growth immigration reform."

The letter, with the names of the groups that joined to sign it, can be found at: http://www.technet.org/…

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