Immigration

Immigrants are the lifeblood of American innovation, the American economy, and the American Dream. But the U.S. immigration system is broken. A balanced approach to reform is critical to ensuring that our economy supports more jobs, higher growth, and opportunity for all. That’s why America’s business leaders support common sense solutions that seek to strengthen the economy by welcoming more legal immigrant workers, establishing a viable solution for undocumented immigrants, and enforcing border security.

Reforming America’s broken immigration system requires policymakers in Washington to tackle major challenges, including modernizing the green card and work-based visa systems, addressing the undocumented and controlling our borders. Business Roundtable supports immigration policies that will help keep America secure, support American economic growth and promote American values.

Our policy recommendations are centered around core principles. The first is focusing on improving security and enforcement of immigration laws. With 12 million undocumented immigrants, the United States must do a better job of enforcing immigration law. The second is welcoming legal immigration workers to contribute to America. The United States has a long history of welcoming immigrants who, through their own drive and hard work, contribute to our society and economy. Lastly, we want to deliver a solution for undocumented immigrants. It is unrealistic to expect people who have set down roots to leave voluntarily, and large-scale deportation would disrupt the workforce, harm the economy and cost billions of dollars.

State of Immigration

The U.S. is far behind in the race for global talent. Read more on our report.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE:

Improve Security & Enforcement of Immigration Laws:

Eliminating the magnet of illegal employment through mandatory compliance with the current electronic employment verification system under a single nationwide standard.
- Phasing in mandatory compliance with the current electronic employment verification system for all new hires after the unauthorized workforce and temporary worker programs have been addressed and only after DHS certifies that the database supporting this verification system is at least 99.5 percent accurate. Failure to comply would result in appropriate penalties.
- Ensuring a single nationwide standard for use of this system by pre-empting relevant state laws.
- Protecting employers that are using the system in good faith from legal action that may result from complying with it
Pursuing more effective strategies to secure American borders and ports of entry, such as mandating additional physical and surveillance resources to meet ongoing security needs.
- Mandating additional physical and surveillance resources as appropriate to meet ongoing security needs.
- Authorizing the U.S. government to enter into immigration enforcement agreements with foreign countries to ensure cooperation in limiting illegal immigration from those nations. Citizens of countries that participate in enforcement efforts could then become eligible for additional permits to work legally in the United States.
- Increasing penalties for criminal violations related to human smuggling.
- Improving and expanding ports of entry to increase the capacity for detecting violations and to reduce waiting times.
- Finalizing the entry-exit data system at air and sea ports of entry to identify visa overstays.
Providing for consistent and effective enforcement of immigration laws across the country.
- Streamlining the legal process to ensure that criminal immigrants in the United States who are identified and properly detained are not released back into the community.
- Facilitating the ability of local law enforcement across the country to determine electronically the immigration status of individuals they arrest for criminal offenses, and enabling local law enforcement to work more effectively to support federal immigration authorities to remove from the United States those who are here illegally.

Welcome Legal Immigrant Workers to Contribute to America:

Increasing the number of H-1B visas and exempting from the annual cap H-1B workers who have degrees in needed fields from universities in the United States.
- Increasing the number of H-1B visas and exempting from the annual cap H-1B workers who have degrees in needed fields from U.S. universities.
- Allowing individuals with advanced STEM degrees from U.S. universities to immediately qualify for a green card to work and live in the United States. A high percentage of STEM graduate students at U.S. universities are foreign born, and America would benefit from encouraging them to stay and work here.
- Reducing the employment-based green card backlog by “recapturing” unused visas caused by processing delays from prior fiscal years, exempting the dependents of those sponsored from counting against the annual quota and eliminating the per-country limit. Employers often wait several months to hire outstanding individuals and foreign-born scientists, and many engineers and researchers wait a decade or more just to receive a green card.
- Maintaining flexibility in the high-skilled visa categories by avoiding overly bureaucratic rules that inhibit access to skilled workers.
- Granting highly educated individuals more flexibility for themselves and their spouses.
- Creating a new visa classification for immigrant entrepreneurs. Those who are prepared to invest resources in the United States and are contractually bound to employ Americans are by definition job creators and should be welcomed.
Establishing a manageable legal system for workers who may not have higher education but are needed for specific sectors, including agriculture, hospitality and construction.
- Creating a new visa classification for long-term, non-seasonal workers. Such workers would be protected under U.S. employment laws and have “portability,” meaning they could leave to work for any employer that complies with the requirements of the program. The annual limit on less skilled workers should fluctuate based on market forces, and workers should be able to earn green cards if they succeed in America.
- Expanding the current H-2B temporary visa program for seasonal workers to meet current demand.
- Creating a new temporary agricultural worker visa program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would allow workers to move easily between employers. Immigrants living in the United States illegally who have passed appropriate background checks, have worked in agriculture and continue to do so could become eligible for a green card based on their work in that industry.

Deliver a Solution for Undocumented Immigrants:

Allowing undocumented immigrants already residing in the United States to come forward, pay a penalty and undergo a series of requirements to earn legal status, including a security screening and learning English.
- Requiring applicants to undergo a series of requirements before qualifying, including security screening, registering for selective service, admitting to wrongdoing, paying a fine, and acquiring the requisite knowledge of English and U.S. civics.
- Permitting spouses and minor children to enter the United States to be reunited with the principal applicants.
- Enabling individuals who entered the United States as minors (under age 18) and who have been educated in U.S. schools to qualify for green cards, subject to appropriate screening and restrictions.
Facilitating the integration of immigrants into American society through incentives and programs designed to encourage the learning of English and U.S. history and civics.
- Creating a public-private foundation to which private companies could contribute to educate immigrants on the values and responsibilities of citizenship and dedicating resources for adult education.
- Providing grants to help prospective citizens learn English.

On Immigration Policy, Businesses and Workers Need Certainty

To maintain America’s place as the global hub of innovation, our immigration system must be modernized to recruit and retain top talent. This requires advancing policies that deliver certainty for businesses, workers and their families. Not only must Congress and the Administration enact a solution for DACA recipients – who are hard-working students, employees and members of our armed forces – policymakers should also avoid policy changes that harmfully disrupt lives, business operations and our nation’s economy.

Solving the DACA Challenge

Business Roundtable, whose members employ Dreamers in communities across the nation, strongly urge leaders in Washington to act now,” writes Chuck Robbins, Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, Inc. and Chair of the Business Roundtable Immigration Committee.

60+ CEOs Write DHS Secretary on Harmful Immigration Policy Changes

As the federal government undertakes its legitimate review of immigration rules, it must avoid making changes that disrupt the lives of thousands of law-abiding and skilled employees, and that inflict substantial harm on U.S. competitiveness," wrote more than 60 Business Roundtable CEOs to the Administration.

Modernizing America's Immigration System

Immigrants continue to play a critical role in strengthening America’s place in the world. That’s why America’s business leaders support policies that will keep the U.S. in the lead—those that benefit our communities, workers and our families. Modernizing immigration policy is an important step in continuing that tradition of excellence.

How the Future of American Immigration Can Impact the Economy

Providing new ideas and fresh perspectives, immigrants have always been a key part of America’s innovative spirit. A vast majority of economists and business leaders agree that immigration is a net positive for the U.S. economy. But, the system for welcoming these highly valuable workers is broken.

Learn More

Learn More on Immigration:

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Immigration reform isn’t just good for companies— it’s also good for American workers, consumers, and the economy as a whole.

Talent

To maintain America’s place as the global hub of innovation, our immigration system must be modernized to recruit and retain top talent.

The State of Immigration

Based on a comprehensive examination of 10 advanced economies to identify and evaluate the best immigration policies to promote economic growth, the United States ranked 9th out of 10 competitor countries, ahead of only Japan, a country historically closed to outsiders.

Immigration

State of Immigration

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE:

Improve Security & Enforcement of Immigration Laws:

Eliminating the magnet of illegal employment through mandatory compliance with the current electronic employment verification system under a single nationwide standard.

Pursuing more effective strategies to secure American borders and ports of entry, such as mandating additional physical and surveillance resources to meet ongoing security needs.

Providing for consistent and effective enforcement of immigration laws across the country.

Welcome Legal Immigrant Workers to Contribute to America:

Increasing the number of H-1B visas and exempting from the annual cap H-1B workers who have degrees in needed fields from universities in the United States.

Establishing a manageable legal system for workers who may not have higher education but are needed for specific sectors, including agriculture, hospitality and construction.