By Randel K. Johnson – U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Published: 07-31-08
Immmigration is an emotionally charged topic that has created deep rifts in our nation. It is essential that our next president work with Congress to address the many difficult issues associated with immigration reform. Our current immigration system is clearly broken and is only getting worse. States have been passing a patchwork of laws and regulations causing confusion among employers and employees alike.
The current work visa programs for both high-skilled and low-skilled workers are unable to meet the demands of our economy. The status quo with at least 12 million undocumented immigrants in the country (at least 5 percent of our workforce) is simply not acceptable. Increased efficiency and streamlining of current visa programs is necessary to respond to the realities of a fast-paced global economy.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports a comprehensive immigration reform plan with the following components: increased border security; an improved verification system that is fast accurate and reliable for determining whether an employee is truly authorized to work in the United States; a new temporary worker program that allows employers to recruit workers from abroad when they cannot find U.S. workers; and under certain strict qualification criteria a reasonable pathway to legal status for undocumented workers presently in the United States.
Current immigration laws are flawed and have failed to curb the flow of undocumented workers into the U.S. It has been more than 20 years since the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). IRCA’s goal was to address the undocumented workers in the country and create a worksite enforcement regime that prevented the employment of the undocumented. This clearly has not happened.
One of the main reasons that IRCA failed is because it did not address the future work force needs of the U.S. economy. There was no provision to meet the demand for lesser-skilled or semi-skilled (“essential”) workers when there was a shortage of U.S. workers. Hence the magnet of unfilled jobs continued to exist drawing workers into the United States.
A workable adequate temporary worker program would increase the security of the United States by relieving pressure on the border by channeling workers into a legal orderly system through which they can be checked and cleared before entering — allowing the border patrol to focus on the real threats coming across our border.
Another example of how our current immigration system does not meet demand is the H-1B visa program. This program which is available only for highly skilled workers with at least a bachelor’s degree has an outdated cap that has been hit 10 times and will probably continue to be hit in the foreseeable future. This is essentially the only visa available to foreign students graduating from U.S. colleges and universities which means that we are sending many of them home often to work for foreign competitors.
To decide among the many H-1B petitions each year a lottery-like random selection process is used. This makes it completely unpredictable for employers to know which high-skilled workers will be able to stay and work and which must leave. There are also significant delays and backlogs for people who are waiting in line to receive their employment-based green card often leaving them in limbo for years while their petitions move slowly through the process.
The United States can create an immigration system that meets all of our economic and security needs while still honoring our values and protecting our workers. After years of talk our immigration laws are a mess we still lack a workable employment verification system and we are undermining the competitiveness of our country. We need to find the will the courage and the leadership to make it happen. Business must continue to engage in the debate and work with our next president to craft immigration laws that make sense for our economic success.
Randel K. Johnson is a vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is primarily responsible for labor employee benefits education and immigration issues pending before Congress and the federal agencies.
