As the debate about immigration reform moves from the Senate, which passed a comprehensive reform package (S. 744) on June 27, to the House of Representatives, small business groups across the country are continuing to make the case for common sense, economy-boosting immigration reform.
In Colorado, small business owners with the Colorado Main Street Alliance hand-delivered a letter outlining their support for immigration reform to the office of Representative Scott Tipton. The letter highlighted how immigration reform can expand Colorado’s state economy by $15.8 billion over ten years, create 2,300 jobs in the state annually, and increase state revenues.
In Florida, Community Business Association of Central Florida leader Homer Hartage co-authored an op-ed about the need for immigration reform in Orange County that ran in the July 4th edition of the Orlando Sentinel, alongside an editorial from the Sentinel’s editorial board expressing support for immigration reform. Then, on July 8th, CBA-Florida sponsored a banner ad on the front page of the Sentinel’s business section calling on Central Florida members of Congress to stand with small business and support economy-boosting immigration reform.
In New Jersey, a broad coalition of local business groups from New Jersey Main Street Alliance to the NJ Nursery and Landscaping Association to the MIDJersey Chamber of Commerce continued to send letters and engage members of the New Jersey House delegation in dialogue about the importance of immigration reform to New Jersey’s business community, including both large and small businesses.
And nationally, Main Street Alliance steering committee member David Borris commented on new polling showing strong support for comprehensive immigration reform along the lines of the Senate-passed bill among Independent and Republican voters in some key congressional districts. Borris summarized the takeaway message from the new polling and what small business owners want when he said, “Earlier polling from this spring showed that small business owners across party lines support reform with a path to citizenship by wide margins. These new poll results today show Republican and Independent voters in these congressional districts do, too. Small business owners are looking to Republicans in the House to step up and be leaders to fix this national crisis.”
