I need to do some research on this organization. They could really cause us some trouble with our employer enforcement bill this year. You guys can comment at the link if you want.

WORKERS: Reform program, not employers
Posted: Tuesday, Jan 13, 2009 - 11:38:32 pm PST
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The Idaho Business Coalition for Immigration Reform is a coalition of Idaho businesses and trade associations dedicated to advocating for sensible reform of the U.S. immigration systems. We are small businesses, manufacturers, agri-businesses, farmers and service providers. We are the backbone of the Idaho economy.

America's immigration crisis has gone on for far too long. Its disruptions and distortions are too serious to allow extreme special interests to continue blocking meaningful solutions. We feel that neither amnesty nor mass deportation is the answer. Amnesty unfairly rewards those who broke our laws, and mass deportation is simply unrealistic.

That is why we support a sensible guest worker program that takes undocumented workers off the black market and legitimizes their economic contributions without providing them with citizenship status. A guest worker program that provides foreign workers with an ID removes the incentive for millions of people to illegally enter our country. It adds workers to our tax base, generates revenue for needed social services and it satisfies the need that employers have for a reliable labor pool.

This approach is much more logical than forcing employers to be the enforcement arm of our nation's immigration policy. Punishing employers for hiring improperly documented workers will not only further damage our economy but will prove to be a deterrent for future economic growth. The role of state government in this issue should be one of assisting businesses to find qualified workers to keep the wheels of commerce turning -- not looking for ways to punish an employer and stifle economic growth.

We encourage the Idaho legislative leaders to work with Congress and the president to craft an immigration policy that allows for employers to hire workers who are in our country legally and provides a sensible workable process for immigrants seeking work to not only enter our country legitimately but to also contribute to our society and economy.

J. BRENT OLMSTEAD

State Coordinator

Idaho Business Coalition for Immigration Reform

http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2009/0 ... tter07.txt