多年来, the Chamber has advocated for federal action that establishes a permanent solution allowing DACA recipients to receive lawful, 永久合法身份, 和 we continue that advocacy today. Take a moment to read this opinion piece co-written by our 总统 和 首席执行官 和 several other leaders across Texas.
Congress must act on DACA or Texas st和s to lose thous和s of jobs
Texas is where businesses thrive, 和 the Lone Star State is well-known as a welcoming business environment for entrepreneurs 和 home to some of the nation’s most critical industries.
The success of our state’s renowned business 和 trade community is a direct result of the unwavering commitment by the 德州劳动力, including the foreign-born population that increases our competitive advantage while driving economic growth. Maintaining a robust 和 diverse workforce, 然而, requires lawmakers to enact policies that ensure our state’s economy can be a well-oiled machine. This includes immigration policy.
不幸的是, our immigration policies are failing us, as recently evidenced by a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. This 决定 will have detrimental effects on our workforce unless Congress intervenes.
法院的 决定 that the DACA policy is unlawful — while allowing for current enrollees to continue renewing their statuses — brings devastating impacts to Texans 和 families who are already working overtime to recover from the p和emic in addition to supply chain woes 和 rising inflation. DACA provides work authorizations for 101,000 “Dreamers” in Texas so they can find employment opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t be available to them. It also extends temporary deportation protections so they can live, work 和 build lives with certainty.
Most importantly, the court’s ruling sets the DACA policy up for ongoing legal action. Without a solution from Congress, Texas could see 5,000 jobs vacated each month 和 1,000 U.S. 公民 could see their spouses subjected to deportation risk each month for the next two years. 美国.S. economy could suffer from as much as $11.70亿年 in lost wages annually from previously employed DACA recipients, equating to roughly 10亿美元 一个月.
More broadly, federal immigration policy has failed to keep up with today’s labor dem和s. 目前有 11.200万个工作岗位 在美国开业.S. 只有 一半 as many workers available to fill them. With appropriate policy changes that exp和 opportunities for immigrants to have certainty in their personal 和 professional lives, we could put more workers on the job 和 create a robust recovery along with it. Failing to do so could lead to the U.S. sacrificing its position as the world’s largest economy by 2030 和 leaving the reserves of vital programs, 比如社会保障, 2034年耗尽.
Further, the future of Texas-led innovation relies heavily on high-skilled workers, 和 today, 超过四分之一 of STEM workers in the state are immigrants who hold high-tech jobs 和 lead next-generation innovation. 与此同时, 基础产业, including more labor-intensive fields such as agriculture 和 manufacturing, also rely on a robust labor force 和 are starving for workers. 今天，超过 3.400万年 immigrants are employed in industries experiencing some of the highest labor shortages, including accommodation 和 food services as well as 建设 和 other labor-intensive jobs in agriculture, 建设, 农牧.
While bipartisan immigration reforms are needed, solutions must urgently be enacted to alleviate some of the pressure on our workforce as well as the immigrant community. 今天, it is imperative Congress establishes a pathway to 公民hip for “Dreamers” before the end of the year.
在一起, we are constantly working to improve the economic vitality of the regions we serve 和 support collaboration on critical issues that impact all Texans, 和 we cannot sit back while the immigration system impedes on today’s growth 和 future business development.
德州需要合法移民. Our leaders in Congress must find a permanent solution for “Dreamers” before the repercussions of inaction imperil our economy. We will continue working with our members, communities 和 elected officials until the job is done.
Chris Wallace is president 和 首席执行官 of the North Texas Commission; Richard Perez is president 和 首席执行官 of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce; Laura Huffman is president 和 首席执行官 of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce; 和 Bob Harvey is president 和 首席执行官 of the Greater Houston Partnership.