Immigration Reform is Key Priority for the President

By EWIC

The business community expressed is strong support for the comments made by President Bush during the State of the Union regarding comprehensive immigration reform. The President emphasized that reform must include: (i) security at our borders; (ii) a workable worksite enforcement system; (iii) a temporary worker program that will respond to the needs of our economy; (iv) a program which will bring hardworking undocumented immigrants out of the shadows and be considered for permanent legal status provided certain strict criteria are met; and, (v) expanded efforts to promote assimilation of immigrants into our society.

“We are encouraged by the level of importance that the President has been assigned to this issue in the State of the Union, and we look forward to the enactment of sound comprehensive immigration reform under the President’s leadership this year,” said Randel Johnson, EWIC Co-Chair, Chamber Vice President of Labor, Immigration and Employee Benefits, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“The President has made immigration reform a top priority, now it is Congress’ turn,” said John Gay, Co-chair of EWIC and Senior Vice President for Government Affairs at the National Restaurant Association.

“The bipartisan compromise passed out of the Senate last Congress met the same principles that the President laid out in the State of the Union. This should set the stage for the new Congress to build on that progress and, working with the President, get an immigration bill to the White House by this Summer,” said Laura Reiff, an immigration attorney at Greenberg Traurig and EWIC Co-chair.

See PDF: REACTION TO THE STATE OF THE UNION