Chamber Urges Immigration Reforms--Welcomes White House Attention on Problem

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce strongly welcomed President George W. Bush's announcement outlining potential immigration reforms, noting that even in an election year, the administration's focus will help push the debate forward.

"Our immigration system is broken and the government must act in a comprehensive way to fix it," said Randel Johnson, Chamber vice president for labor, immigration and employee benefits. "We need a system of 'earned targeted adjustment' for undocumented workers that fill vital roles in our economy, which would enable them to achieve legal status. We also need to expand permanent and temporary visas for workers to enter the United States legally to meet future workforce requirements."

Under the proposal announced today by President Bush, a job registry will be created to match foreign workers with employers in need of labor. The president also laid out a new method to allow undocumented workers to keep their jobs and obtain legal status.

"Our immigration and visa policy must ensure employers are able to fill jobs critical to our economy when American workers are not available," Johnson said. "Today's announcement provides a good opportunity to move forward and enact sensible and comprehensive immigration reform."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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04-01