Business leaders urge immigration reform
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Some leaders in agriculture, food service and health care are urging the Trump administration to craft an immigration policy that "removes dangerous individuals" but "protects law-abiding immigrant workers who are vital" to their sectors.
Why it matters: The bipartisan group says President Trump's pledged mass deportations could gut their industries and drive further inflation for consumers.
The big picture: The campaign called "Secure Our Borders and Secure Our Workforce" was launched Monday by the Chicago-based American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), which represents 1,700 employers nationwide.
- On a call for the campaign launch, many prominent industry figures, including Marc Schulman of Chicago's Eli's Cheesecake, spoke about immigrant and refugee workers who have kept their businesses alive.
- The business leaders urged the federal government to develop bipartisan solutions to create more legal paths for their immigrant employees to continue working in the U.S.
State of play: Homeland Security chief Tom Homan is in Chicago this week leading deportation operations that so far have reportedly resulted in dozens of arrests targeting people charged with crimes.
- The Trump administration last week suspended refugee resettlement to the U.S. for four months.
By the numbers: ABIC executive director Rebecca Shi said removing undocumented immigrant labor could slash the gross domestic product by 4.2%.
- Plus, she said Chicago members reported a 50% drop in foot traffic over the last week due to fears of immigration raids.
What they're saying: "I wish we could find more American citizens so that we don't have to rely on the guest worker program, but unfortunately, that's not the reality," said Tony DiMare, president of Florida-based DiMare Homestead tomato growers.
- "We can import workers and continue to produce our food here in the United States, or we can import food" and risk our country's food security, said Matt Teagarden, CEO of the Kansas Livestock Association.
Between the lines: The ABIC request is similar to one advanced in a recent USA Today op-ed by Chicago restaurateur Sam Sanchez representing a group of Latino Trump voters called Comité de 100.
The other side: Axios reached out to the White House for a response to ABIC's concerns but did not immediately hear back.
The intrigue: When Axios asked the business leaders how much they'd have to raise their prices for meat, produce and health care if they hired only U.S. citizens, they said the question was moot because citizens don't apply for their open positions.
- "When we do raise wages, the people that are benefiting are the immigrants," said Adam Lampert, CEO of Cambridge Caregivers of Dallas. "So offering even higher wages is not going to attract Americans. And as we're paying [workers] more money, the American consumer is paying the price."
- Shi notes, "Even if every unemployed American found a job today, we would still have 1.7 million open positions," in all sectors, per federal data.