New Report looks at Economic Effects of Restrictive Immigration Laws
On Friday, December 7th, 2007 the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released Assessing the Economic Effects of State Laws Addressing Foreign-Born Unauthorized Workers. The report found that a crackdown by many
U.S.
states and municipalities on illegal immigration threatens the competitiveness of businesses across the country.
No fewer than 1562 pieces of legislation related to immigrants and immigration have been introduced among the 50 state legislatures. Of these bills, 244 became law in 46 states. 11 bills have been vetoed by governors. Two measures are pending governors’ review.
State legislators have introduced almost three times as many bills in 2007 as they did in 2006. The number of enactments from 2006 (84) has nearly tripled to 244 in 2007.
"What these state and local laws are requiring our builders to do, small business people, is to comply with the various immigration laws across all these counties," said Jerry Howard, Executive Vice President of the National Association of Home Builders. "It's very, very difficult. It literally can't be done."
It is estimated that more than 20 percent of the building industry's entire workforce is foreign-born, making the immigrant population essential to meeting housing demand and sustaining economic growth in this country. Homebuilders consistently rate labor availability among their most prominent concerns.
For more information, contact Carlos Guttierrez at 800-368-5242 x8279.
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