Houston business leaders want politicians and the public to know how vital immigrants are to the economy so they are creating a national coalition in Washington, DC called Americans for Immigration Reform.
" "We think that it's the responsible thing to do, to engage in the discussion rather than sit back and wring our hands," said Jeff Moseley, president and chief executive officer of the partnership, which is spearheading the effort. "We know that for Houston and this region to be world-class, there has to be a thoughtful, comprehensive reform to immigration, and now is the time." "
Currently the new group does not have a list of what it is they will be lobbing Congress for, however, the partnership has urged Congress to come up with a temporary worker program that could match workers with employers.
The coalition says that it will counter the arguments made by talk radio and television host who were opposed to immigration reforms, said Jeff Moseley, president and chief executive officer of the partnership.
In Houston, immigration is a hot issue because of the nearly 250,000 illegal workers or 10% of the area job force, which
illegal aliens contribute $27.3 billion to the Houston area's gross regional product.
" "Because of our proximity to the border, we have a significant immigrant community," said Foster, a partnership board member. "We realize that this gets to the very fabric of our community and who we are." "
and that is exactly what we're trying to avoid... Americans being
assimilated in to the Mexican culture in the United States and not the other way around.
additionally, I wish that they would stop throwing "immigrants" in the same category as "illegal aliens". There is a major difference.
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