In an election year during which bombast has largely trumped frank policy discussions, the conversation around comprehensive immigration reform has devolved into us vs. them demagoguery.
Fortunately, an effort to push the reset button and renew productive dialogue about immigration reform is underway and will culminate August 3 with events across the country, including right here in Madison.
The Reason for Reform campaign is a national day of action launched by the Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE), a coalition of business leaders and mayors spearheaded by Michael Bloomberg and Rupert Murdoch to influence public opinion and policymakers toward comprehensive immigration reform.
On August 3, more than 500 Republican, Democratic, and Independent mayors and business leaders will be speaking in every state and making the economic case for immigration reform at the federal level.
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Mayra Medrano |
The Madison event will take place at Centro Hispano, says Mayra Medrano, president of the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Dane County, and speakers on behalf of the PNAE will explain the benefits of having a talented and engaged foreign-born population in Wisconsin. “The Latino Chamber is involved to explain how Wisconsin immigrants are critical contributors to our economy — essentially, how important it is that we do not discredit this demographic.”
Growing influence
The economic impact locally and across Wisconsin from immigrants is not insignificant.
According to data from the PNAE, Medrano says immigrant entrepreneurs have made a considerable impact by starting more than 10,000 businesses in Wisconsin. These immigrant-owned businesses brought in nearly $600 million in business income annually between 2006 and 2010.
Additionally, Medrano notes, immigrants to Wisconsin opened businesses at twice the rate of U.S.-born citizens during that period.
In a fact sheet, the American Immigration Council notes “immigrants, Latinos, and Asians account for growing shares of the economy and population in Wisconsin. Immigrants (the foreign-born) make up 4.8% of the state’s population, and more than two-fifths of them are naturalized U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote. ‘New Americans’ — immigrants and the children of immigrants — account for 3.5% of registered voters in the state. Immigrants are not only integral to the state’s economy as workers, but also account for tens of million of dollars in tax revenue and consumer purchasing power. Moreover, Latinos and Asians (both foreign-born and native-born) wield $12.5 billion in consumer purchasing power, and the businesses they own had sales and receipts of $4.7 billion and employed more than 26,500 people at last count. As the economy continues to recover, Wisconsin can ill-afford to alienate such an important component of its labor force, tax base, and business community.”
The economic and political influence of immigrants will only continue to grow, notes the PNAE. Between 2015 and 2020, as many as 25.6 million Hispanic and Asian voters are expected to join the U.S. electorate.
“It’s no longer a discussion around whose side [Democrat or Republican] are you on [politically],” Medrano says, “but whose side is going to take the initiative to work on immigration reform that helps families and helps businesses prosper.”
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Tania Ibarra |
“Today’s economy is idea based with a global footprint,” notes Tania Ibarra, president of the Latino Professionals Association of Greater Madison. “The only way that the U.S. can remain competitive in the idea-based global economy is by having a great people strategy that includes the maximization of immigrant talent through immigration laws that allow immigrants to design their lives based on their values and needs and not necessarily based on the limitations of current immigration laws. Immigrants bring a unique perspective into the workforce and therefore increase the ability of organizations to innovate, problem solve, and capitalize on the global market. Immigration reform is imperative to the growth of the U.S. economy as a means to replace a shrinking workforce.”
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Local impact
In Madison and Dane County, there’s already a growing realization that the business community needs to capitalize on the immigrant population to enhance the local workforce, Medrano says. However, there’s still work to be done.
Much of that work depends on partnerships between the business community and local advocacy groups that are designed to make the most of talented immigrant professionals.
The Latino Academy of Workforce Development has partnered with Stevens Construction Corp. to create a pathway that combines on-site job training and in-classroom training with the end goal of working for Stevens Construction.
“It’s not just come in on Saturday for a two-hour workshop on construction training,” Medrano explains. “It’s a week-by-week type of experience, a ladder that takes them all the way to the end result of obtaining a job. And then it’s constant communication between the workforce academy and Stevens Construction to figure out some of the cultural nuances that come into play and then how to eliminate those barriers.”
Medrano notes another local workforce development initiative between Summit Credit Union and Centro Hispano to provide teller training for the local immigrant population.
The Latino Chamber of Commerce has also created an incubator/accelerator program for immigrant entrepreneurs to get mentorship and business advice from other area professionals to ensure new businesses are successful.
“It’s ensuring that you don’t move from step one to step two without covering your bases,” Medrano says. “With this type of programming our Latino business owners are more dedicated and have more of a vested interest in ensuring they go step by step because they understand that the lack of immigration reform often means owning your own business is the only option.
“With the current federal policies regarding immigration, you can’t easily be an employee,” continues Medrano, “but there’s nothing that states you can’t be an employer.”
Overcoming obstacles
Any comprehensive immigration reform package needs to address the common obstacles to employment that immigrants experience, Medrano says.
Primary among those obstacles is the ability to obtain a driver’s license.
Currently in Wisconsin and a lot of other states you can’t obtain a driver’s license if you don’t have a Social Security number, Medrano explains. It’s also often difficult or impossible to obtain a business loan or get access to capital with proper identification, such as a Social Security number or driver’s license. “As far as immigration reform, we want to ensure that the people who are contributing to society by paying their taxes, owning businesses, and creating jobs don’t feel like they can’t conduct business transactions just because they can’t formally identify themselves.”
Organizations must also switch from thinking of immigrant labor as low-skilled, notes Ibarra. “Many immigrants are highly educated and high-skilled and struggle to get an opportunity to utilize the full potential of their talent,” she says. “When we think immigrant labor, we [also] need to expand to all countries and regions. Immigrant workers come from many parts of the world. [And] local business must create inclusive cultures where immigrant talent and unique perspectives are recognized as additional value to the company.”
“Virtually all of the immigrants who come to this country to look for a better life for themselves and their family, their American dream is to become a citizen and to contribute as taxpayers to the country that’s given them an opportunity to either work or have a business,” Medrano says. “Immigrants play a genuine role in this community and their desire to contribute and better the lives of their families and neighbors is extremely important. Immigrants may have grown up with different traditions but they share the same values as U.S.-born citizens.”
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