Labor Supports Immigration Reform
On the heels of President Obama’s declaration that immigration reform is one of his priorities, the rival AFL-CIO and Change to Win labor groups have joined forces to support reform. According to the New York Times, the two groups endorse legalizing the status of illegal immigrants already in the U.S and oppose any large new program for employers to bring in temporary immigrant workers.
The two groups are willing to support, however, a national commission that would determine how many permanent and temporary foreign workers should be admitted each year based on demand in American labor markets. This commission could make sure that worker immigration is reduced during times of high unemployment like the present, the unions say.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups are skeptical of the two union groups’ proposal. They will support legalization of immigrants already in the country only if there is an expansion of a temporary worker program. They don’t believe the commission idea is strong enough to accomplish that result.
So, immigration reform is more on the radar than probably anyone expected it to be right now. The chances of real reform in the near term seems remote, however. Stay tuned.
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Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 at 9:14 am under
