News

The NAM is proud to endorse the Dignity Act, a bill championed by Reps. Maria Salazar (R-FL) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX), which offers solutions to the problems plaguing our nation’s broken immigration system.

Why it matters: The manufacturing industry has more than 400,000 open jobs right now, and the industry will need an additional 3.8 million jobs over the next decade, according to a study by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute (the NAM’s workforce development and education affiliate).

A stable, legal workforce—and an immigration system that allows for reliable, fair and sensible entrance into this country—will help to alleviate this acute shortage.

How it works: The bill would enact strong border security measures while making significant reforms to our broken immigration system in a way that will help manufacturers address workforce shortages.

• The bill will increase work-based immigration avenuesby creating  ‘O’ visas that allow STEM PhDs from US universities to stay and work in the US. It also doubles per-country caps (from 7% to 15% of total) to reduce backlogs from larger countries.
• The bill would mandate the use of E-Verify, with a safe harbor to protect manufacturers from prosecution if they use E-Verify in good faith and receive an incorrect work eligibility confirmation
• It establishes a 7-year renewable conditional legal status for undocumented immigrants who have been in the United States for more than five years. This new status would be called, the Dignity Status.
• For an individual to be eligible for the Dignity Status, “Participants must comply with all federal and state laws, pass a criminal background check and pay back taxes owed… They also must pay $7,000 in restitution over the course of the seven-year program. It is not a path to citizenship.”
• The bill also includes protections for undocumented children brought to the U.S. by their parents at no fault of their own. It provides them with a 10-year conditional permanent resident status to live and work, adjustable to green cards (and thus eventually citizenship) through work experience, military service or higher education.

In the legislators’ words: “When the nation’s manufacturers speak, Washington should listen. They know firsthand that a strong economy depends on both the rule of law and a stable, reliable workforce,” said Rep. Salazar. “I’m grateful for NAM’s leadership and proud to have their support as part of a growing national coalition committed to finally fixing our broken immigration system.”

• “It’s long past time Congress understands that immigrants are good for America. The ongoing labor and workforce shortages continue to highlight just how much our economy, our industry and our manufacturers rely on immigrants,” added Rep. Escobar.

The NAM says: “With the Dignity Act, Reps. Salazar and Escobar have offered actionable solutions to promote the core values of opportunity and hard work while appropriately focusing our immigration priorities on a strong and secure border, a workable system of enforcement that respects the rule of law and merit-based reforms that prioritize America’s economic interests,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons.

• “The Dignity Act will help manufacturers in America innovate more, compete more, build more, produce more and export more American-made products.”

Publicity: Manufacturing Dive (cited above) noted the momentum gained by the bill thanks to the NAM’s support. Rep. Salazar also publicized the NAM’s endorsement on X.