FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2021
Frank Knapp, 803-600-6874, fknapp@scsbc.org
Ben Roussel, 202-210-3112, ben@rousselpr.com
SC Small Business Chamber CEO addresses labor shortage and introduces Rep. Clyburn
Washington, DC — U.S. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC), and members of the House Judiciary Committee, including U.S. Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Chair of the Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee; Veronica Escobar (D-TX), and Val Demings (D-FL), joined the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) and other immigration reform leaders at a virtual press event TODAY following historic committee approval of critical immigration reform measures. The immigration language is being considered for inclusion in the Build Back Better reconciliation process.
The House committee approved urgent measures to support families and improve our economy that will provide pathways to citizenship for Dreamers,Temporary Protected Status holders (TPS), farmworkers and essential workers. If these measures become law they will be the most important immigration reforms in decades and will provide a boost to our economy and labor force at a critical time of worker shortages across various sectors.
Participants in today’s event discussed the important and historic nature of these reforms, why immigration solutions are vital to our economy and our labor force, the ongoing national campaign to pass immigration reform now and why immigration reform is as strong a candidate for inclusion in reconciliation as any policy under consideration.
Last week, a group of the nation’s leading economists sent a letter to congressional leadership urging a pathway to citizenship through reconciliation, arguing that it would bolster the U.S. economy. In the letter, economists calculate that “creating a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those eligible for TPS, and undocumented immigrants in essential occupations, including farmworkers, would grow U.S. GDP by $1.5 trillion, raise the annual wages of all workers by $600, and create more than 400,000 new jobs over the next decade. Also, a new poll found 67-26% support for legalization in reconciliation extending across party lines, with intensity strongly pro-immigrant.
The American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) promotes common sense immigration reform that advances economic competitiveness, provides companies with both the high-skilled and low-skilled talent they need, and allows the integration of immigrants into our economy as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs, and citizens. ABIC is active in key states and communities across the country engaging activists, advocates, business leaders and elected officials on the urgency of passing immigration reform that boosts our economy, creates jobs, eases the labor shortage and supports families.