Business, Chambers, And Restaurant Leaders In Texas Call For Immigration Reform

Houston, TX -- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Partnership for a New American Economy, American Farm Bureau Federation, Business Roundtable, AmericanHort, Western Growers, and the National Association of Manufacturers today urged Congress and the administration to work together to enact immigration reform during a Day of Action with events in Washington, DC and in more than 60 congressional districts across 25 states.

Concurrent to a national press conference in Washington, DC, news conference was hosted in Houston, Texas. The event featured representatives from the Greater Houston Partnership, Texans for Sensible Immigration Policy and the Houston Restaurant industry.

The coordinated events aim to show that across industries, sectors, and geographies the business community needs our immigration laws to be modernized.

“The need for immigration reform is not going to go away – and conservative leaders and business owners from every corner of the country agree,” said Jeremy Robbins, executive director of the Partnership for a New American Economy. “It’s time for leaders in Congress to listen to their constituents and do what’s best for our economy: pass immigration reform now.”

“Congress needs to modernize the immigration system. Our economy suffers at the hands of a Congress that refuses to address this issue,” said Norman Adams, Co-Founder of Texas Immigration Solution. “Employers are hoping and praying our Texas delegation addresses immigration reform - the time for excuses has passed.”

In conjunction with the National Day of Action, three business advocacy organizations, the Partnership for a New American Economy, the Business Roundtable and the National Association of Manufacturers, released new opinion survey findings showing strong support among voters in 26 states and nationally for immigration reform. These results were released in conjunction with a National Day of Action for Immigration Reform that included a Washington DC press conference and events in more than 60 key districts across 25 states. Findings for the survey of Texas voters include:

• Voters across Texas recognize the immigration system is broken: By a 12 to 1 ratio, voters believe the system is in need of fixing versus those who think the system is functioning the way it should. 91% of Republicans believe Congress should take action to fix the immigration system. 90% of Independents agree.
• Voters overwhelmingly reject argument that President's unwillingness to enforce laws is grounds not to pass immigration reform. Nearly 2 out of 3 voters (66%) reject the argument that the Administration's unwillingness to enforce laws is a reason for Congress not to act. 3 of 5 Republicans reject this argument as well.
• Voters don’t want Washington to wait to fix the immigration system. 83% of voters want Congress to act this year, with more than half calling it "very important" they act this year. 85% of Republicans say it is important that Congress act, while 58% say it is very important. 81% of Independents believe it is important for Congress to act this year.
• Voters support the principles outlined by House leadership. More than 60% of voters support the basic immigration plan laid out in Speaker Boehner's "immigration standards". 51% of Republicans support an immigration reform plan that secures our borders, expands visas for high-skill workers and farm workers, provides an employer verification program, allows young persons brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents an opportunity to earn citizenship, and provides visas to live and work here legally to undocumented immigrants without a criminal record who pay penalties and back taxes. Only 40% oppose. Among Independents, 69% support and only 27% oppose.
• Voters support establishing a legal status for undocumented immigrants. 3/5 of voters support legal status for undocumented immigrants. A majority of Republicans (54%) support legal status.
• Republicans want their next presidential candidate to support immigration reform: Republicans would rather vote for a presidential candidate in 2016 that is from a party that supports reform (72%) than one from a party that opposes it (14%).

“Behind all the noise and rhetoric is an American electorate looking for leaders unafraid to tackle immigration reform,” said Brock McCleary, President, Harper Polling, Inc.

The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) automated national telephone survey was conducted between June 24th and 28th, 2014 by Harper Polling. The sample size for the national survey is 1,000 likely voters and the margin of error is +/-3.1 percent. The national survey results are available here.

The Texas Interactive Voice Response (IVR) automated telephone survey was conducted by Harper Polling, Inc between June 23rd and June 25th, and surveyed sample size was 500. The margin of error was 4.38%. The total percentages for responses may not equal 100 percent due to rounding.

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About the National Day of Action for Immigration Reform

Today, a coalition of leading business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Partnership for a New American Economy, American Farm Bureau Federation, Business Roundtable, AmericanHort, Western Growers, and the National Association of Manufacturers launched a Day of Action for immigration reform. These compelling business voices are best positioned to speak on why immigration reform is in our national interest: we need changes to our immigration laws in order to drive job creation and economic growth for our country.

Despite a stalemate in Washington, business leaders are more united than ever, and we are not giving up on the importance of fixing this problem. We join today to deliver the message to the administration and Members of Congress that immigration reform is an economic imperative. In order to drive this message home, we are coordinating a Washington, D.C. national press conference with events in more than 60 congressional districts in 25 states – all in a single day.

Today’s national press conference highlights leading business association CEOs talking about the need for reform. The in-district events features state and local employer associations, state farm bureaus, local businesses and industry leaders. The goal is visible activity across the country, including, among other states, Arkansas, California, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The coordinated events aim to show that across industries, sectors, and geographies the business community needs our immigration laws to be modernized.