WASHINGTON — Today, in response to President Joe Biden’s border executive order, the bipartisan American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) and American Families United issued the following statements in response:
“Our nation deserves safe, orderly and humane borders and solutions for the nearly 10.6 million American citizens who have a spouse or parent who is undocumented. While bipartisan legislation passed through Congress would be best, we need action now,” said American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) executive director Rebecca Shi. “If the Biden-Harris administration feels they must take executive action on the border, then they can and should swiftly do the same for our nation’s mixed-status families and Dreamers who are too young to qualify for DACA.”
“American families like mine cannot wait any longer,” said Ashley DeAzevedo, president of American Families United, representing 1.1 million United States citizens married to undocumented spouses. “With a stroke of a pen, President Biden can deliver a down payment on his commitment to our families.”
Additional Background:
Expanding work permits for long-term contributors is overwhelmingly popular among Americans generally. Nineteen U.S. Senators; 80+ members of Congress; 300+ employers, CEOs and associations have also endorsed work permits for long-term immigrants, along with labor organizations like SEIU, UNITE HERE and the Culinary Union, the Teamsters and United Auto Workers (UAW). NYC Mayor Eric Adams and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson recently led a bipartisan letter of over 40 mayors urging the president to extend work permits, and over 140 Latino state and local elected officials from across the nation have urged the President to act.
According to reports, it is gaining momentum in the White House. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the U.S. economy will see a $7 trillion boost over the next decade, due to immigration bringing increased consumer demand and an expanded labor force.
The U.S. is home to 10.6 million U.S. citizens who live in mixed-status households, with hundreds of thousands of impacted U.S. citizens in states like Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Long-term undocumented immigrants have lived on average for 15 years in our country working, paying taxes and raising American children. Each year, undocumented immigrants earn $92 billion in household income and contribute almost $9.8 billion in federal, state and local taxes.
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American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) is a bipartisan coalition of 1,400+ CEOs, business owners, and trade associations across the country. ABIC promotes common sense immigration reform that advances economic competitiveness, provides companies with both the high-skilled and low-skilled talent they need, and allows the integration of immigrants into our economy as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs and citizens.
American Families United (AFU) is a non-partisan 501(c)(4) non-profit organization established in 2006. AFU proposes practical solutions to Congress and supports efforts to advance legislation that affects 1.1 million U.S. citizens married to foreign nationals who face barriers to progressing through the legal immigration system.