Manufacturers: Immigration Reform Essential to U.S. Competitiveness
05/12/11 - National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Relations Aric Newhouse issued the following statement today on President Obama’s call to reform the immigration system:“Manufacturers agree with the President in his call for immigration reform. To maintain our competitive edge, manufacturers need access to the best talent possible, and too often they are unable to find workers with skills to meet the needs of advanced manufacturing. As a result, we must expand and modernize the current employment-based visa and green card systems to ensure that talented international workers are drawn to and stay in the United States – as this ultimately helps our competitiveness.
Adopting a legal immigration system that better reflects market demands and provides the flexibility needed to respond to specialized skill needs is vital to manufacturers’ ability to fuel economic growth. Manufacturers also support education initiatives and a skills certification plan that create a domestic pipeline for the next generation of workers at all skill levels.
As the debate over immigration reform continues, we look forward to working with Congress and the Administration on key reforms that are critical to our competitiveness.”
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