Letter on the "Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Reform Act of 2007"

June 25, 2007

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE:

On behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region, I urge you to vote for cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 1639, the "Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Reform Act of 2007."

American citizens and businesses need to have confidence that there is a practical plan in place to fix the nation's dysfunctional immigration laws. The current system is clearly broken and states are naturally reacting to the lack of action at the federal level with a patchwork of immigration laws and enforcement—exposing employers who must deal with a broken legal structure to unfair liability. The status quo is clearly unacceptable.

The bill before the Senate, while far from perfect, contains the contours of a sound compromise to achieve comprehensive immigration reform: increased border security; a path to recruit future workers needed from abroad when there are not enough U.S. workers available; a mechanism for undocumented workers to earn legal status; and a new employment verification system. The Chamber has concerns with the details of several of these provisions, and will continue to work with lawmakers as the legislative process continues to move forward.

The Chamber urges you to support the cloture motion on S. 1639, and will include votes on, or in relation to this issue, in our annual How They Voted scorecard.

Sincerely,
R. Bruce Josten