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Builders Urge Reform of Immigration Laws
With President Bush expected to push his “guest worker” immigration initiative in the coming months and legislative proposals by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), S. 1438, and Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), S. 1033, pending, the NAHB Board of Directors enacted policy during its recent meeting in Reno, Nev., calling on the Congress to reform the nation’s immigration laws.
The resolution notes that while it is of paramount importance to all U.S. citizens and NAHB members to protect and secure the nation’s borders, the contribution of a substantial immigrant workforce plays a critical role in sustaining the national economy and meeting the nation’s housing needs.
In the resolution, NAHB indicates its opposition to illegal immigration.
To help facilitate the employment of foreign nationals in the U.S., NAHB is calling on Congress to “create a new visa system whereby more immigrants can legally enter the residential construction workforce each year and be put on the path to temporary or permanent legal residency or citizenship.”
Citing estimates that more than 400,000 people illegally enter the U.S. each year, NAHB endorsed congressional efforts to address this problem by creating a system that would provide temporary or permanent legal residency or citizenship for the nation’s growing population of undocumented immigrants.
NAHB policy also calls on the Administration and Congress to promptly “pursue changes in the criteria for a flexible visa classification that will address the needs of the construction industry for a labor supply sufficient to meet the nation’s housing needs.”
To read the legislation, click here and enter the bill number in the box at the upper left.
For more information, contact Jenna Morgan Hamilton at NAHB at 800-368-5242 x8407.
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