As House Moves On DACA, NAM Reaffirms Support For Congressional Action
Congress must come together and pass a comprehensive, bipartisan immigration overhaul.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) sent a letter to Congress Thursday signed by dozens of manufacturing leaders across the country urging a bipartisan overhaul of the current immigration system and requesting Congress assure a safe future for Dreamers and participants in the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program.
On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee completed a markup of legislation to address two immigration populations currently facing uncertainty. One bill would provide permanent relief from deportation for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals as well as a conditional permanent resident status and another for TPS recipients that includes a path forward to legally remain in the United States.
The full House is expected to vote on this legislation in June.
“Dreamers, including participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, and participants in the Temporary Protected Status program continue to face uncertainty under our broken immigration system,” the letter from the NAM reads. “Congress needs to send a strong signal that we welcome their talents, contributions of hard work, desire for education, and if serving, support their willingness to wear the uniform of the armed forces.”
Earlier this year, the NAM released “A Way Forward,” a plan for comprehensive immigration reform that bolsters border security while strengthening the economy and providing certainty for those immigrants who are anxious about their future.
“Manufacturers are in the business of building solutions, and ‘A Way Forward’ is manufacturers’ commitment to fix our immigration system once and for all—one we believe can bridge the partisan divide on long-lasting immigration issues, as well as time-sensitive challenges that continue to arise,” NAM Vice President of Infrastructure, Innovation and Human Resources Robyn Boerstling said. “Our plan proposes seven core areas of action for Congress and the administration to take that will bolster national security, show compassion to those seeking a better life and strengthen the American workforce.”
The solution to the challenges facing our immigration system won’t come easily, but the path toward it is clear: Congress must come together and pass a comprehensive, bipartisan immigration overhaul. ‘A Way Forward’ provides a roadmap for how to accomplish that goal.
“America is indeed a nation of immigrants, but America has also become a nation with a broken immigration system,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said in a letter earlier this year. “Manufacturers believe our leaders not only have an obligation to fix this system but also a historic opportunity to do so at a moment when Americans’ attention is focused on the issue like almost none other.