EWIC commends Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) on the introduction of the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act of 2021 which would address the ongoing immigration crisis at the southern border. The legislation was introduced by Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX) as a bipartisan/bicameral measure. The bill is limited in that it addresses border and asylum issues only and does not address a panoply of other key issues in dire need of attention to fix our immigration laws.

The serious immigration problems facing this country, including those at the border, cannot be fixed without reforming the legal visa system for those currently in the U.S. in a destabilized status and those who wish to enter the U.S. legally and have no viable way to do so. Our businesses must have access to a supplemental legal workforce when they cannot find qualified U.S. workers to do essential jobs in the economy.

One crucial bipartisan immigration fix could be a solution for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) participants. Our industries believe that these workers currently in the legal workforce as DACA and TPS participants should have an opportunity for “earned adjustment” to legal status.

We stand ready to work with the Administration and Congress to push forward true reforms to the U.S. legal immigration and visa system that reflect the marketplace realities today and in our collective future. We understand how important it is to address immigration policy issues in a bipartisan way. This bill from Senators Cornyn and Sinema and Representatives Cuellar and Gonzales is a good step towards opening the door to further bipartisan efforts that get to the root of the broken immigration system.