WASHINGTON, D.C. — A growing and diverse coalition is amplifying the call for Congress to pass immigration and border reforms this year.
The Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus (ANIC), a coalition of nearly 40 members from the faith, business, agriculture, education, national security and advocacy communities, has expanded significantly since its March launch. New members include the Border Perspective, California Farm Bureau Federation, Catholic Charities USA, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, FWD.us, Improve the Dream, National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), and State Business Executives.
“We are encouraged by the broadening of the Alliance coalition,” said Daniel Garza, president of The LIBRE Initiative. “The growth in our movement reflects the strength of American voters who urgently want common sense legal immigration and border security passed this year. It’s not a red or blue issue. It’s a movement by the people who want America’s immigration system working effectively to strengthen our national security, grow our economy and contribute to our communities.”
The ANIC is advocating for solutions for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and other Dreamers; individuals with Temporary Protected Status; the agriculture sector; and border management that is secure, orderly and humane. Its growth comes as DACA remains threatened in the courts, including an appeals court hearing today in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Since March, ANIC members have held hundreds of congressional meetings and educational events involving the voices of voters, job creators, religious leaders, farmers and ranchers and more from states across the country.
“We have a ripe opportunity to expand America’s economy and make it more resilient for generations to come. However, in order to fully capitalize on this moment, America must strengthen its workforce today to match the demand,” said Duane Musser, National Roofing Contractors Association’s vice president of government relations. “Millions of Dreamers are rising up to fill essential jobs and meet this economic demand. But, due to the DACA program standing on shaky legal grounds and uncertainty facing individuals with Temporary Protected Status, America’s economy could face a new wave of crippling workforce shortages. Policies that secure our borders while delivering clear and thoughtful immigration reforms are critical and must be solved by Congress this year to protect and advance America’s economic momentum.”
“Our communities desperately need common-sense immigration solutions for Dreamers, TPS recipients and farmworkers, especially when many of them are deemed essential workers. The uncertainty of their immigration status poses a severe risk to the spiritual, emotional, educational, and economic stability of our communities,” said Stephen Reeves, director of Advocacy for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. “That is why CBF is proud to join ANIC, and partner with other organizations who can also see the writing on the wall: if we do not act now, we will further increase the instability in our communities and restrain the growth potential of our country.”
“Our failed immigration system has not been meaningfully updated in more than three decades. This ongoing congressional inaction has resulted in devastating consequences for immigrants and their families, our workforce and economy, and all those that rely on these people who are integral pillars within our communities, ” said Todd Schulte, president of FWD.us. “While recent developments, such as the Supreme Court affirming the Biden Administration’s end to the harmful Remain in Mexico program, are welcomed, the underlying and critical need for impactful reform is abundantly clear. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program hangs by a thread, and the most recent horror in Texas, coming after so many tragedies resulting from a failed immigration system, reminds us once of the brokenness, failure, and fragility of our immigration system. Our nation’s immigrants deserve better. That means creating an orderly, humane immigration system that works for immigrants and our nation, not against us.”
Drawing on the recent 10th anniversary of DACA’s inception, ANIC members are calling on Congress to act with greater urgency now as the policy stands on shaky legal ground. On July 6, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing arguments about a lower court’s assessment that DACA was created unlawfully. With this date quickly approaching, ANIC members have released the following supporting materials to provide public education on the economic impact and importance of a congressional solution for Dreamers:
- On June 15, the National Immigration Forum released a letter from 46 American corporations calling on Congress to act on a policy solution for Dreamers to earn permanent legal status after a federal court in Texas ruled this decade-old policy to be unlawful.
- On June 14, FWD.us published an economic impact study on DACA recipients in the U.S. from the past 10 years.
- On June 8, the Presidents’ Alliance hosted a webinar with legal experts titled “DACA’s Precarious Future.” An archive can be viewed here.
On February 28, the National Immigration Forum published new polling that found 8 in 10 voters want common-sense solutions in 2022, before the midterm elections, that include border security, an opportunity to earn legal status and citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, and a legal, reliable workforce for America’s farmers and ranchers.
As support for immigration reform grows stronger across a diverse range of businesses and organizations, ANIC’s message to Congress is clear: it’s time to act now.
To learn more about ANIC’s efforts, visit www.anic.co and follow the conversation on social media channels with the hashtag #ANIC.
About the Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus
The Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus (ANIC) is a public coalition of faith, business, agriculture, education, national security and advocacy organizations working to build support for bipartisan legislative solutions that strengthen border security as well as provide permanent legal protections and other reforms for Dreamers, TPS recipients and agricultural workers in 2022.