U.S. COC-Boost legal immigration & give amnesty to illeg
Boost legal immigration, U.S. Chamber CEO says
Ryan Randazzo
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 11, 2007 12:00 AM
The United States needs to "normalize" the nation's millions of illegal immigrants and increase legal immigration to keep the economy growing, the president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday in Phoenix.
Some farmers already have moved operations to Mexico to more easily access workers, and high-tech companies are expanding to places such as Canada, where they more easily can hire foreign engineers, Thomas Donohue said.
"We can either force companies to move offshore . . . we can either make the U.S. dependent on other countries for our food supply, just like we are for oil . . . or we can have a system of bringing the workers into our country," he said.
No solution to immigration will please everyone, but Congress needs to readdress the issue after failing to pass an immigration initiative earlier this year, he said.
"We would like to get the debate going again," he told about 50 executives at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort.
He said state laws targeting businesses that hire illegal immigrants, such as a new one in Arizona, are a reaction to vocal, uninformed immigration critics. He mentioned politicians responding to talk radio at least twice. At least one national expert said Donohue's hopes for more immigration are unlikely.
"What he wants, he is going to have to cram down the throats of the public," said Steven Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., which favors limited immigration. "The number of people that want to increase immigration is very small. He does have money, he does have the political muscle, but it's probably not enough to overcome public opposition."
Camarota predicted Congress will continue to avoid the immigration debate because of the political risk. He spoke with The Republic after reading the text of Donohue's speech.
To help balance the political debate, Donohue urged business owners to speak with employees to explain how immigration affects their company.
Business leaders in attendance applauded.
"It's hard to get the message out," said David Beer, chief financial officer for Sun Valley Masonry in Phoenix. "Employers need to talk to their workers. Most of the general public doesn't realize how the immigrant workers impact the economy as a whole."
Donohue said expanding legal immigration is something "many Americans simply don't want to hear."
"If we lower our voices a little bit and take a hard look at the reality of immigration on our economy, we can reach consensus," Donohue said. "We don't have any choice. The U.S. is creating more jobs than workers, and we need immigrants to balance the equation."
But Camarota said economic arguments for increased immigration are a wash.
"When we do that calculation, the effect looks to be so small we can barely measure it," he said. "The main effect is to shift income around. It doesn't look like there is much net gain."
Donohue, in his speech, responded to criticism that immigrants drive down wages for Americans, re-emphasizing a worker shortage.
"You can't pay more to workers that don't exist," he said. "They don't exist." The Department of Homeland Security reports that 1.27 million people became legal permanent residents last year, which Camarota said is sufficient.
"That's not small. That's not nothing," Camarota said. "What Mr. Donohue is telling us is that, with all of that, it just isn't enough."
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