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Know This Now, August 6, 2026: National Governors Association Unveils Immigration Framework Shaped by ABIC Action to Expand Work Permits to Long Term Immigrant Workers

By August 6, 2026August 11th, 2026No Comments

National Governors Association Unveils Immigration Framework Shaped by ABIC Action to Expand Work Permits to Long Term Immigrant Workers

A bipartisan immigration framework developed by ABIC Action over the past year was adopted by the National Governors Association (NGA) at its Summer Meeting in Oklahoma City last week.

Watch Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, and Delaware Governor Matt Meyer announce the joint immigration task force on Bloomberg This Weekend with Christina Ruffini:

With the border secured and continued affordability crisis, Governors across party lines are taking the lead to protect regional economic stability through common-sense reforms like expanding work permits for immigrants:

“Americans know that we need to have secure borders… But what is the end game?” said Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R-OK). “We believe that the state should be more in control of workforce permits. We are closer to our workforce, whether it’s hospitality, agriculture, construction… The governor should be able to match employer to employee. Congress doesn’t want to deal with it. States can get this done.”

Attending the summit in Oklahoma City, ABIC Action CEO Rebecca Shi praised the governors for prioritizing workforce solutions that stabilization transcends party lines:

“We are deeply grateful to Governors Stitt, Moore, Cox, and Stein for their courageous, bipartisan leadership,” Shi said. “Governors see firsthand how labor shortages drag down local economies, drive up inflation, and leave key industries struggling to hire. By listening to employers and pushing for work permits for long-term immigrants, our nation’s governors are proving that common-sense immigration reform isn’t a partisan issue—it’s an affordability issue. Congress can secure our workforce and reignite the American Dream.”

Policy Watch

State Sponsored Visa Pilot Program Act of 2026: Sens. Curtis, Kelly Introduce Bipartisan State-Sponsored Visa Legislation

Senators John Curtis (R-UT) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) introduced the State Sponsored Visa Pilot Program Act of 2026, an economic solution designed to empower states to address local labor market demands through visa reforms.

Under the proposed legislation, highlighted by Senator Mark Kelly’s Office, The Economic Times, and Newsweek, participating states could sponsor temporary visas (W-visas) for foreign workers and investors based on specific workforce shortages, while the federal government maintains full authority over background checks, visa approvals, and immigration enforcement.

The bill creates a legal pathway for long-term undocumented residents present in the U.S. since December 31, 2016, who pass eligibility background checks, stabilizing local communities and regional economies. 

Comité de 100: Midterm Watch

Coverage and analysis of last week’s “Let Builders Build” rally hosted by the South Texas Builders Association and the American Business Immigration Coalition Action continued this week.

“Lawmakers across the country are fighting for our vote because they know that we decide their future,” said Comité de 100 co-chairman and CEO and president of Precision Task Group, Massey Villarreal. His remarks were published in full by the Rio Grande Guardian this week, including his call for immigration reforms that protect long-term, law-abiding workers.

Reflecting on his family’s story, Villarreal said, “My dad came across the river in Rio Grande and I have been living the American Dream because of my father.” 

The event was also featured this week in Off the Kuff, a long-running Texas political blog, publishing highlights from the Texas Tribune story on builders warning of voter backlash to ICE tactics in November:

“I want to send a clear warning to every political leader: If you don’t stop the worksite raids, the mass deportations, if you don’t pass the work permits for long-term, law-abiding immigrants, or citizens, or our Dreamers, you will lose,” said Villarreal.

He said that Latinos in Texas should take it personally when ICE targets people like Lorenzo Salgado Araujo because it’s an attack on the community.

Ronnie Cavazos, chairman of the South Texas Builders Association questioned why the community supported a presidential administration that would shoot and kill a worker like Salgado Araujo, a long-time builder in Houston killed in July by ICE. 

“Let’s be real, we voted for it,” Cavazos said. “So whose fault was it?”

He and the organization are paying attention now, he said, adding that the only way to change things is to vote.

TPS: Workforce Fallout of TPS Ending for Haiti and Syria

With hundreds of thousands of essential, legal workers now unable to work due to the recent expiration of TPS for 350,000 Haitians and Syrians, researchers and business leaders warn the U.S. economy will suffer significant losses, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. TPS holders work at higher rates than the general population, pay billions in taxes, fill critical jobs in construction, healthcare, manufacturing, and hospitality, and contribute to Social Security. 

“Even if you don’t care anything about immigration in this country, removing this many highly productive workers from the economy is going to hurt Americans in their pocketbooks,” Rebecca Shi, CEO of ABIC told the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Americans are going to get hit, in terms of inflation, in healthcare, in housing.”
Harriett Cecilia Joseph, a Haitian TPS holder who built a life and business in Ohio, told PBS: “It’s not that we don’t want to go back to Haiti. It’s just the situation doesn’t allow us to.” After learning TPS was ending, she said, “Everything I had accomplished was now at risk.”

Hundreds of Haitian immigrants in Ohio whose TPS has been terminated are being ordered to report to ICE offices, where some have been fitted with ankle monitors and given future court dates. Immigration advocates say the check-ins are occurring even for some individuals with pending asylum claims. Advocates warn the approach is bringing fear in the community to new highs.

Watch:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1347134160963115

More from the ABIC Network

ABIC Board Chairman and former Arizona State Senator Bob Worsley was recognized by the Federation of United Mexicans in Utah as a recipient of this year’s Tonahuac Awards at a ceremony at the Mexican Consulate in Salt Lake City. The annual award honors leaders who advocate for and support Hispanic and immigrant communities in Utah.

Salvador Lazalde, president of the federation, praised Worsley’s long-standing dedication to protecting immigrant rights. Through his leadership with ABIC, Worsley continues to champion common-sense solutions that keep families together and provide legal status for long-term immigrant workers, farmworkers, and DACA recipients.

“America is great because of immigrants.” – Bob Worsley, ABIC Board Chairman and former Arizona State Senator

“Varied waves of immigrants from different parts of the world over the years were positive to America, but the anti-immigrant pushback was not. It was always unfair and cruel and split up families, and I’m against that,” Worsley told KSL News.

News Briefing

Associated Press News: Trump Signs New Executive Orders Attempting to Restrict Birthright Citizenship and Curb Birth Tourism

President Donald Trump signed two new executive actions on immigration this week, renewing efforts to limit birthright citizenship following a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in June that struck down his initial day-one attempt. 

The new order is narrower in scope, aiming to restrict automatic citizenship for specific groups, including children of adults connected to foreign embassies or organizations, individuals deemed “alien enemies,” and children whose parents allegedly engaged in fraud to obtain status. A second order targets “birth tourism” by tightening visa restrictions on foreign visitors traveling to the U.S. to give birth.

While Trump acknowledged the earlier court defeat as a “bad, very unfair decision,” he maintained his belief that these new actions are constitutional. However, legal experts and civil rights organizations emphasize that the 14th Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship.

Politico: Senate Farm Bill Stalls in Committee Over SNAP Cost-Sharing Dispute

A GOP-led attempt to reauthorize the overdue Farm Bill stalled in the Senate Agriculture Committee following a 10–11 vote, leaving Congress without a clear path forward on legislation last updated in 2018. Committee Democrats stood united against the package over Republican proposals requiring states to share Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) costs. While Chair John Boozman (R-AR) offered a one-year delay on SNAP cost-sharing alongside authorizations for year-round E15 biofuel sales and food bank funding, Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and committee Democrats held firm for a two-year delay to protect state budgets and food access.

Chair Boozman recessed the panel indefinitely, signaling plans to reconvene members for another vote in September following the congressional recess.

Perspectives

Bloomberg Opinion: These Texas Builders Backed Trump. They’ve Had Enough

Houston Chronicle Opinion: Too Many Texas Restaurants Are Closing. Here’s How to Fix That.

In an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle, Texas Restaurant Association President and CEO Emily Williams Knight outlines the economic pressures driving restaurant closures across Texas. 

Knight notes that half of Texas restaurants reported operating at a loss last year, up from 38% in 2024, as rising costs have squeezed already-thin margins. She points to Houston’s 85-year-old Molina’s Cantina as an example of the strain facing longtime establishments, with tomato prices doubling from $18 to $45 per crate and fajita beef increasing from $9 to $13 per pound.

Knight argues that labor shortages across the food supply chain, from farms and processing facilities to restaurants, are intensifying these challenges. With immigrants making up nearly one-quarter of Texas’ food sector workforce, she supports expanding work authorization for vetted, long-term immigrant workers through proposals such as the bipartisan Dignity Act to help sustain the state’s 1.5 million restaurant jobs and protect small businesses.

The Texas Restaurant Association, is a partner of the ABIC-led ‘Seat the Table’ coalition, a national campaign of business leaders advocating for immigration solutions that address critical workforce shortages in the food and hospitality industries. Learn more about the ‘Seat the Table’ coalition here.

Get Involved

  1. Join one of ABIC’s Councils of 100 and let your voice be heard with your peers – sign up here. The Council of 100 is a coalition of top business leaders working to advance common-sense workforce solutions.
  2. Share your story: If your business is interested in engaging with the press as part of ABIC or amplifying your story on social media, take this quick survey to let us know your preferences. 
  3. Work with us: ABIC is hiring! We are looking for a California State Director and Digital Manager to join our growing team. Learn more.

Always available: ABIC Employer Resources Folder

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