Arizona Chamber of Commerce CEO not backing Senate immigration bill

PHOENIX — The head of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry doesn’t think new legislation reducing legal immigration into the United States, especially of workers, would be beneficial to Arizona’s economy.

“We certainly understand the need to modernize our immigration system and, in fact, have been pushing to do so for the last decade,” said Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Chamber. “But this bill is by itself certainly not the right way to go.”

The U.S. Senate bill, known as the RAISE Act, would cut the number of legal immigrants allowed to come into the U.S. by about 50 percent over a decade. It would also change the green card application process to a point-based system, giving preference to high-skilled foreign workers.

Points would be awarded based on several factors, including an applicant’s ability to speak English, job skills and education levels. Similar point-based systems are in place in Canada and Australia.

President Donald Trump announced his support for the bill Wednesday, saying it would reduce competition for American workers. But Hamer said he doesn’t think that would be the case

“If you’re taking away workers in industries where they can’t find workers who are current U.S. citizens to occupy those roles, it’s going to harm the entire ecosystem,” he said, pointing to the agriculture industry as an example.

A recent report by the bipartisan group New American Economy finds 63 percent of workers in Arizona’s crop production industry are foreign-born.

Hamer said a better approach includes drafting a bill that modernizes the visa system to meet labor needs, secures the border, makes the E-Verify system mandatory and creates a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants.

“All of these different pieces really need to be addressed,” he said.

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