Central Florida Leaders to Rubio and Scott: Pass Bipartisan Immigration Solutions Now!
ORLANDO, FL – Business, faith, and civic leaders from Central Florida are joining Floridians from across the state in urging Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL) to support bipartisan immigration solutions that expand the region’s workforce, bring certainty to families and employers, and help our economy roar back from the pandemic. The Central Florida Thriving! Bipartisan Immigration Solutions 2021 summit will take place on Tuesday, May 25 at 1 PM EST.
Media is invited to attend the event. Register here.
Event speakers include Most Rev. John Noonan, Bishop of Orlando; Mayor Buddy Dyer, City of Orlando;Kay Rawlins, Club Founder & SVP of Community Relations, President, Orlando City Foundation (Orlando City Soccer Club); Jan Gautam, President & CEO, Interessant Hotels & Resort Management; Dr. Idler Bonhomme, Chairman and Officer of the Board, Greater Haitian American Chamber of Commerce Orlando; Rene Plasencia, Florida State Representative (R-Titusville); William Diaz, Founder, Casa de Venezuela; Jorge H. Figueroa, President, Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida; Maria Rodriguez, Executive Director, Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC); Cirenio Cervantes, DACA Recipient, Faith in Florida; Arianna Cabrera de Ona, SVP of Human Resources and General Counsel, Costa Farms, AmericanHort Member; Patsy Sanchez, Education Advocate, and Community Activist, Former Director of Diversity and Inclusion, USF | Tampa; Al Cárdenas, Former Chairman of the Florida Republican Party; Nora Venegas, Director, Federal Government Relations, Tyson Foods and Representative Darren Soto (FL-9). Register here.
Central Florida’s world-class economy is struggling amid a shortage of workers that’s threatening the region’s economic recovery across industries, from entertainment, hospitality and agriculture, to restaurants and healthcare. Sens. Rubio and Scott can help Central Florida’s economy bounce back from the pandemic by supporting immigration solutions such as the Durbin-Graham Dream Act of 2021, the Bennett-Crapo Farm Workforce Modernization Act, and the SECURE Act. This event follows a series of summits, including one led by Venezuelans in support of the SECURE Act — all urging Florida’s U.S. Senators to give permanence to Dreamers, TPS holders, essential workers and agricultural workers. It comes as U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen in Texas is expected to rule any day on potentially ending DACA, which would put the lives of Dreamers and their employers in disarray, further threatening our economic recovery.
DETAILS:
WHAT: Central Florida Thriving! Bipartisan Immigration Solutions 2021
When: Tuesday, May 25 at 1 PM EST
Register here: http://bit.ly/CentralFloridaThriving
Immigrants are essential to Central Florida
- There are over 490,000 immigrants residing in Central Florida who pay over $3 billion in local, state, and federal taxes, and have a spending power of over $10 billion.
- Almost 50% of workers in the Central Florida agricultural industry are immigrants. The Agricultural industry holds the largest share of immigrant workers in the Central Florida region.
- In Orlando and its surrounding areas, one in three hospitality industry workers is an immigrant.
- Over 36,600 immigrants in Central Florida have started businesses and created new jobs for American workers, expanding their local economy and our workforce.
- In 2017, there were 29,545 immigrant entrepreneurs in the Orlando metro area. Immigrants were also 18.2 percent more likely to be entrepreneurs when compared to U.S.-born residents.
- There are currently 60,000 TPS recipients residing in Florida, many of them Venezuelans. Venezuelan leaders are a key constituency for Republicans in Florida and were instrumental in shaping the outcome of the 2020 elections in the state. The Venezuelan community fought long and hard for TPS designation and has worked side-by-side with both Republicans and Democrats in the process.
ABOUT
IMPAC Fund is the Florida chapter of the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) which promotes commonsense 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. For more information go to impacfund.org.
ABOUT
The American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) promotes commonsense 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.