Updated 04:10 PM EDT, Fri, Apr 26, 2024

Immigration Reform 2014: Business Leaders Pushing for Immigration Reform

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While politics are slowing down immigration reform, business incentives could push reform forward.

Business associations and companies like Intel, Yahoo and HP are working with the Obama administration to pass immigration reform, Forbes reports.

Although the Senate-passed bill is stalled in the House due to many House Republicans' opposition to comprehensive reform, a growing percentage of the U.S. population supports providing undocumented immigrants with a path to citizenship. President Barack Obama is also gunning for reform, and has emphasized the positive economic aspect of immigration reform.

During an interview with Univision Radio, Obama said, "I believe it will get done before my presidency is over."

"I'd like to get it done this year," he added.

"What the U.S. needs," he continued, is "a smart immigration policy in this country that grows our economy - gets people out of the shadows, makes sure that our businesses are thriving. That's got to be a top priority."

Yet, House Speaker John Boehner has stalled on passing a piecemeal form of immigration reform because he said he is not confident that Obama will enact new immigration laws. He is also afraid to push for immigration reform's passage out of fear of crossing his more conservative political colleagues.

Representative Raúl Labrador of Idaho, an opponent of current reform efforts, said that Boehner's stance "should cost him his speakership."

Nevertheless, business leaders are continuing to push for reform. Billionaire investor Warren Buffet said in a 2013 interview: "I think we should have a more logical immigration policy. It would mean we would attract a lot of people, but we would attract the people we want to attract in particular - in terms of education, tens or hundreds of thousands of people. We enhance their talents and have them stick around here."

According to a report from the Chicago Council, a nonpartisan group, three quarters of Republican business leaders who participated in the study support some form of immigration reform.

Doug Oberhelman, the Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, an Illinois-based company, argued that gaining access to new talent is critical to sustaining the United States' economic edge.

"Providing consistent, reliable access to both high-skilled and low-skilled talent is critical to sustain our nation's global competitiveness in many industries including healthcare, technology, manufacturing, hospitality, and tourism," he said. "We need reform that will provide opportunities for immigrants and foreign students to enter the U.S. and our workforce legally, attracting and keeping the best, the brightest, and the hard working."

Bill Gates echoed Oberhelman's opinion: "To remain competitive, we need a workforce that consists of the world's brightest minds [and we need to] make it easier for foreign-born scientists and engineers to work for U.S. companies."

Marco Rubio, a Republican senator from Florida and a Tea Party favorite, is pushing for reform largely due to business benefits, despite his political leaning.

"I don't think it's good for the country to have people that are forever permanently barred, who are legally here at this point but are permanently barred as citizens," Rubio said.

Young Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg continues to be an advocate for immigration reform. In March, FWD.us, a pro-immigration reform group he supports, launched an ad that implores House Republicans to move ahead with comprehensive reform.

"Nothing won't do. Call House Republicans today," the ad says. "Tell them we've waited long enough, pass immigration reform."

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