HispanicBusiness

WASHINGTON -- One of the nation's leading advocates for small businesses, the Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC), is calling on Congress and President Bush to act now to loosen immigration policies and increase the number of immigrant workers available to small employers.

"One of the most urgent challenges facing small businesses is the shortage of employees," said Darrell McKigney of the SBSC. "The reality is that immigrant workers -- legal and illegal -- are filling vital roles in the economy, and many small businesses simply can't survive without them. Unless small businesses can hire enough employees, they'll simply go under.

"Right now, employers are facing the tough choice of either going without enough employees or running the risk of violating the law. Small-business owners don't want to be immigration police, they just want to provide products and services to their customers," McKigney added. "This situation can't continue. President Bush and Congress should act now to increase immigration opportunities."

In a new SBSC report on immigration issued today, SBSC chief economist Raymond J. Keating points out:

-- Foreign-born workers already provide 12 percent of the total hours worked in this country each week.
-- Foreign-born workers are filling the gap created by a lack of native-born workers attracted to low-skill jobs.
-- The number of foreign-born college graduates in the labor force has increased by 44 percent since 1994.
-- Current immigration levels are in the normal range for U.S. history.
-- The American labor force faces a shortfall of 7 million workers within seven years.
-- Immigrants are important sources of entrepreneurship and job creation.

"Looking ahead, increased immigration will be important to meet future demands for both skilled and unskilled workers, as well as continuing to stoke the entrepreneurial fires that feed U.S. economic growth," said Keating. "The best answer to illegal immigration is to make legal immigration far easier. In the long run, the U.S. should move far closer to a policy of open borders."