The Illinois Business Immigration Coalition (IBIC) spoke out in support of President Barack Obama’s latest action, which will give millions of undocumented immigrants a chance to live, work and study in this country legally.
The coalition represents a diverse group of businesses statewide and supports immigration reform as a vehicle of economic recovery, a way to increase the labor pool and an opportunity to integrate immigrants into the fabric of the U.S. society and economy.
In a statement released Nov. 20, IBIC reiterated the belief that legislative action is the best way to achieve “common sense, and permanent solutions,” but it welcomed Obama’s executive action for its relief to families, businesses and national security.
“It is bad for the economy to have millions of people working in the shadows,” the statement said. “It is bad for national security when we do not know who is in the country and for what purpose. It is bad for the country when families are kept apart.”
There are approximately 11 million people living in this country without proper documents. The executive action will give about 5 million a way to stay in this country legally. Some of them are the parents of citizens or permanent residents, some are young people brought to this country by their parents as children. The executive action also allocates resources to strengthen border security and expands the visa opportunities for graduates who studied science, technology, engineering and math at U.S. universities.
IBIC, and its growing membership of Illinois businesses, plans to continue fighting for legislative reform from Congress. While the president’s order helps, IBIC argued, it’s only a start.
“Absent legislation,” the press release said, “our country’s immigration system remains broken.” Above Sergio Suarez, a Chicago business owner and IBIC member.
