The Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (EWIC) applauds the efforts of a bipartisan group of Senators to forge principles on immigration reform.  We are encouraged that such bipartisan efforts are moving forward to make necessary changes to the nation’s dysfunctional immigration system.  We are also pleased to see that President Obama has weighed in on the issue of immigration reform and has made clear that he supports the efforts of the Senate to craft legislation.

EWIC believes, as the Senate principles articulated, that businesses need to have the ability to hire lower-skilled workers in a timely manner, including workers needed year-round, when Americans are unavailable or unwilling to fill jobs.  In fact, a guest worker program is essential to the success of any viable reform to our immigration system.  This must be combined with a mechanism to bring existing undocumented workers in the U.S. out of the shadows and grant them legal status.  We believe reforming our immigration laws will significantly enhance U.S. security while honoring the valuable contributions of immigrant workers.  EWIC supports the reform of U.S. immigration policy to facilitate a sustainable workforce for the American economy while ensuring our national security and prosperity. After many years of inaction, the immigration framework announced by the Senate bipartisan working group is a welcome first step toward the immigration reform America needs.

EWIC (www.ewic.org) is a broad-based coalition of national businesses and trade associations from across the industry spectrum concerned with the shortage of both semi-skilled and unskilled (“essential worker”) labor. EWIC supports policies that facilitate the employment of essential workers by U.S. companies that are unable to find American workers.