The issue of comprehensive federal immigration reform is bringing together business leaders, unions and the faith community, according to an article published in The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, Ore.). All three are working together because they sense the opportunity to get something done in the current Congress:
“It’s very symbolic that we’ve decided to go in the same direction on the issue of immigration,” said Jeff Stone of the Coalition for a Working Oregon, a group of 20 Oregon employer associations. “It doesn’t mean that businesses have gone to the left, or unions to the right. Both sides still have their opinions, but we’re setting them aside.”
The three groups are asking lawmakers to halt all immigration-related legislation on the state level and declare support for swift federal action. Along with their counterparts in other states, they are pushing Congress for a September vote on immigration, and they want local legislators to pass a nonbinding resolution supporting President Barack Obama’s reform agenda.
That agenda includes securing borders, creating a system to regulate the flow of workers, and allowing undocumented immigrants in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line to become citizens.
Jeff Stone, as you may know, is also director of government relations for the Oregon Association of Nurseries. Read the rest of the article here.
