American Business Immigration Coalition Action
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 5, 2026
Media Contact: Danae King, dking@americanbic.biz
After Midterm Backlash Against Cruel Deportations, Businesses, Farmers, and Hispanic Leaders Call for Bipartisan Immigration Reform
U.S. Senate Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) joins ABIC post-election press conference as leaders say mass deportations fueled voter backlash and harmed families and key industries
Speakers urge bipartisan action in the lame-duck session to secure the workforce and lower prices.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a post-election briefing and analysis hosted by the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) on Nov. 5, U.S. Senator and Minority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined business leaders, farmers, and Hispanic construction leaders and former Trump voters to affirm what the midterm elections made clear: Americans have spoken and they want immigration solutions, not cruel deportations.
In light of both chambers of Congress flipping to Democrat control, Durbin and other speakers called on President Donald Trump and Congress to listen to voters and provide work permits and legal pathways for long-term immigrants immediately in the lame-duck.
“The American people have spoken. The Hispanic voters have spoken. It is time for Congress to speak with one voice for the DREAM Act,” said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). “The people that I work with in the Senate, many Republicans included, feel that we’re long overdue putting together a sensible immigration policy. We can have a safe and secure country. We can have a border policy that makes sense as well. And we can treat people humanely.”
Speakers described how cruel and indiscriminate deportations has affected the economy, businesses, workers and families in communities across the country.
Lawmakers and business leaders urged President Trump and Congress to use the lame-duck session beginning November 9 to advance work permits and legal status for Dreamers, longtime TPS holders, spouses of U.S. citizens and other long-term immigrants who have worked and contributed to their communities for years.
Sen. Durbin said it would be “an answer to my prayers” if there’s a vote in the U.S. House and Senate by the end of the year on the DREAM Act.
“I believe there are votes to pass it, I hope I’m right,” Durbin continued. “There are so many whose lives are depending on our actions that we have to do everything in our power to give them the chance for a change in the law and a path to citizenship.”
ABIC and ABIC Action pointed to bipartisan proposals already before Congress — including the Dream Act, the Dignity Act, the American Families United Act and the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act — as opportunities to protect families, stabilize the workforce and lower prices.
“The American Business Immigration Coalition and our 2,200 CEOs urge Congress and President Trump to hit the reset button and pass bipartisan immigration solutions to protect our long-term essential workers. They can do this now, immediately, in the lame duck. There are serious bipartisan solutions for Dreamers, spouses of U.S. citizens, and long-term essential workers,” said Rebecca Shi, CEO of the American Business Immigration Coalition Action. “And for Vice President J.D. Vance, who decided in his finger-pointing post-election to attack immigration reform and us, and the businesses who are supporting it. President Trump has said not once, twice, but three times since Tuesday that he will work with Democrats on immigration reform. We hope Vice President Vance does not sabotage our president.”
ABIC Action shared new analysis of election results from key House and Senate races that showed voters rejected the administration’s mass deportation agenda and supported bipartisan immigration solutions. Among the results highlighted:
- In Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, Hispanic voters shifted by 46% toward Democrats.
- In western Kansas, Hispanic voters shifted 50% towards Democrats and voters elected a Democrat, Adam Hamilton, to the U.S. Senate for the first time since 1932.
- In northern Nevada, Democrats for the first time won a House seat that Trump carried by 14 points.
Longtime members of the GOP and Trump voters warned that the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement had alienated even lifelong Republicans, and urged both parties to heed the lessons of the midterms.
“I voted for President Trump three times because I believed him when he said he would deport the ‘worst of the worst’ and bring economic prosperity to America. But he broke those promises… and for J.D. Vance to not understand that his own buddy Stephen Miller is the reason that they lost this, then they obviously don’t live in our reality,” said Mario Guerrero, CEO and executive director of the South Texas Builders Association. “Hispanics in South Texas sent a clear message: Don’t mess with our workers or our families. The Hispanic vote doesn’t belong to Democrats or Republicans, we stand for our community and the American Dream. Now we demand that Congress and the president listen to voters and find solutions so our workers can gain legal status and no longer live in fear.”
Business leaders also discussed the effect of enforcement on agriculture, homebuilding, restaurants and senior care, emphasizing the pressures employers and consumers face when experienced workers are forced out of their jobs or live in fear of detention.
“When ICE came to Kansas in September, raids drove workers to hide inside cattle and feedyard bunks usually used during blizzards. These raids sent shockwaves across our agricultural industry and disrupted the supply chain essential to feeding our nation,” said Matt Teagarden, CEO of the Kansas Livestock Association and chair of the ABIC Agricultural Council. “Work permits and protections for long-term immigrants are also affordability policies. But these workers aren’t just workers, they’re valued members of our communities. President Trump and Congress have an opportunity to deliver the solutions our agricultural industry desperately needs.”
The impact of immigrants on the U.S. workforce is well-documented, the U.S. Department of Labor cites 19% of workers as foreign born in 2025, meaning 1 in 5 workers is foreign born.
Immigrants support U.S.-born workers’ jobs, too, with one losing their job for every six undocumented immigrants who leave the workforce, according to the University of Colorado Boulder and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
“Just this morning, I received a communication from yet another member who said a 12-year employee was targeted and picked up on their way to work to prepare food for Americans. That is simply not okay and not a way that we can continue serving people in our restaurants,” said Emily Williams Knight, president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association. “More than half of restaurant operators have experienced negative business impacts from changes in immigration policy. We also know that food prices are up about 35% since the pandemic. My call to Congress and to the White House is simple: do not waste this moment. Advance bipartisan work permit solutions during the remaining weeks of this Congress and make lasting immigration reform a priority for the next.”
The interior immigration enforcement raids since Trump took office for his second term in January 2025, haven’t gotten only — or even mostly — the “worst of the worst.” Instead, 80% of the nearly 1 million people deported by DHS from Jan 2025 to July 2026 had no criminal conviction, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
“Our residents have lost beloved caregivers, the people closest to them who bathe them, feed them and play cards with them. They are heartbroken, they’re angry, and guess what? They vote,” said Rob Liebreich, president and CEO of Goodwin Living. “We already lack the workers needed to provide affordable and reliable care to older adults, and without a secure workforce, costs will only continue to rise. It’s time to pass work permits and long-term legal status for immigrants who are already here. Our older adults are counting on us.”
Families and Dreamers also described the personal toll of immigration uncertainty and detention.
“My husband, Carlos, has lived, worked and served in our community for almost 30 years. When he was detained by ICE, I took a leave of absence from teaching and followed him through 16 transfers to 12 detention centers,” said Angela Della Valle, a Pennsylvania middle school teacher and member of American Families United. “Our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and faith leaders from across the political spectrum fought alongside me to bring him home. I’ve met Americans in some of the most conservative parts of the country who understand the moral and economic toll mass deportations are taking on our communities. It’s time for change.”
“I came to this country when I was fourteen years old from Mexico, and I did not speak English.
Three years later, I was fluent and graduated at the top of my high school class. This past May, I graduated from Harvard University on a full scholarship,” said Simone, a Dreamer and co-founder of Dreamers Forward Alliance. “But I do not have legal status, so I cannot legally work. My dream is to become a lawyer and give back to the country that invested in me. I’m urging Congress and President Trump to work together and find a compromise so Dreamers can legally work and contribute.”
With Congress returning to Washington on November 9, ABIC and ABIC Action will continue pressing lawmakers in both parties throughout the lame-duck session to deliver the commonsense immigration reforms voters demanded at the ballot box.
Watch the full press conference HERE.
Read ABIC Action’s full post-election analysis HERE.
See ABIC Action’s policy memorandum with recommendations for Congress and the White House HERE.
Interviews with ABIC members and leaders are available upon request. For media inquiries or to schedule an interview, please contact Danae King, PR Manager at ABIC, at dking@americanbic.biz.
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About the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC): ABIC is a bipartisan coalition of more than 2,200 CEOs, business owners, and trade associations across more than 30 states. ABIC promotes common-sense immigration reform that advances economic competitiveness, provides companies with both high-skilled and low-skilled talent, and allows the integration of immigrants into our economy as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs, and citizens.
About ABIC Action: The American Business Immigration Coalition Action (ABIC Action) was created to mobilize the power of American businesses and the general public for sensible immigration solutions. ABIC Action develops and advocates for policies that promote common-sense state and federal immigration reform to benefit the people and economy of our country.