Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform Petition

We, the signatory businesses, professionals, agencies, associations and institutions, are aggrieved by our national government. Our government has failed to provide a workable immigration policy and thereby has restricted a much-needed vital resource. We have not only a multi-faceted border crisis, but also a growing workforce and economic crisis -- we cannot maintain, let alone grow, our businesses without migrant workers. No matter what we pay, there are not enough native-born workers to fill present or future needs. Our economy will fail without an adequate supply of workers. The current and future cohorts of young American workers is shrinking due to lower birth rates, while ever greater percentages of these young people are attending college. Thus we have a shortage of skilled and semi-skilled “blue collar” workers in this country.

The Declaration of Independence provides that we are “endowed with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” While a large supply of low and semi-skilled workers is available at our southern border, the federal government has attempted to cap the supply at a fantasy number of 5,000 per year. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are unattainable without good will and economic health – witness war, starvation, exploitation, death and disease over much of the globe where these inalienable rights do not prevail.

The potential growth rate of U.S. GDP is falling to annual levels below 2.5%, the lowest rate in more than a century, a rate lower than in the Great Depression. A healthy economy depends on growth, and growth depends on labor supply and productivity. It is clear to any thoughtful person that current U.S. immigration policies are blocking a vital resource and threatening the future of our country. Furthermore, current and ill-conceived federal immigration policies are creating a flood of unregulated migration, which makes it impossible to secure our southern border. We can’t find the “bad guys” when we’re spending so much time and energy trying to intercept the “good guys.” What we have is a case of bad law, not bad workers, and certainly not bad employers.

We bring this petition to you not only because we despair for the interests of our private business and personal liberties, but also because we fear for our whole economy.

The Arizona industries that rely most heavily on low-skilled foreign workers are agriculture, building and grounds maintenance, construction, health care, hospitality and food service. These labor intensive industries employed 916,000 people, which is 40% of the total Arizona work force in 2005. Using federal and state statistics we estimate that there are a minimum 62,000 undocumented workers in Arizona, about 7% of the total workforce in low-skill industries. These industries represent $67 Billion of Gross State Product (GSP) which is 31% of the state’s $216 Billion economy in 2005.

As it stands now, even with current undocumented workers remaining in place, there are no new workers; these industries and the Arizona economy cannot grow without new workers. What would happen if immigration law were applied equally across the board and 62,000 Arizona workers surrendered for deportation? It is hard to grasp the full magnitude of economic consequences, not to mention the humanitarian disaster, uprooting children, dislocating families, creating a wave of unemployed refugees returning to poverty in their native countries, leaving thousands of Arizona businesses starving for labor. We all intuitively know there is an economic tipping point somewhere in these scenarios where diminished capacity coupled with greater demand sends the whole economy descending into some form of stagnation and inflation. Are we as yet so primitive that we cannot see the handwriting on the wall, and act to prevent it?

Accordingly, We do hereby Mandate, Endorse and Promise the following:

THAT the 110th Congress shall, for the good and essential needs of the Nation, promptly undertake all necessary study and deliberation, acting in a spirit of good will without rancor, so as to produce a complete and sensible immigration reform bill, addressing both the current and long-term needs of the Nation, for delivery to the President for his signature before the end of summer. If the Congress does not produce comprehensive immigration reform in this timeframe, these issues, and thereby our national economic health, will languish before the tides of other pressing political and electoral business before us. Given the extraordinary and growing malaise surrounding these issues over several decades, and their compelling nature, We do hereby express our dearest hope and mandate that you as Our legislative body will act promptly in accordance with the following principals:

THAT We, the People who are the captains and engineers of economic life in the various sectors represented hereby, drawing from our personal experience and reflection, do hereby join together and endorse the AZEIR Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform for your consideration. It is our view that none of the elements are expendable, that all elements are essential and each must be carefully addressed.

AZEIR PRINCIPLES FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM

• National Security - Strengthen national security through effective screening of foreign workers with efficient and reliable worker identification and disincentives for illegal immigration.
• Economic Needs - Provide for the present and future needs of our economy which depends on migrant workers including those already in the United States -- safe harbor provisions for workers and employers to ensure compliance, a practical process for a just resolution of the legal status of current undocumented workers, and adjustable market-driven quotas.
• Rule of Law - Secure the rule of law through clear, humane, and sensible legislation resulting in fairness and efficiency for workers, families, employers, law enforcement and other government functions. Ensure that foreign workers enjoy the same labor law protection as do American workers.
• Burdens and Responsibilities – Fair, reasonable and efficient distribution of all related costs, benefits and responsibilities amongst employers, workers, state and federal governments and taxpayers. Employers to accept a fair share of the administrative and financial burden.

The Parties hereto agree that,

Should, as We most fervently pray, the Congress shall, midst the multitude of pressing business before it, act responsibly in accordance with the foregoing Mandate and Statement of Principles, we do hereby promise:

First, to engage in, assist and support your proceedings in whatever fashion may be most practical and conducive to a complete, wise and speedy outcome, and

Second, to give our full and reasonable support, resource and energies to comply in good faith with the Act so produced.

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