July 30, 2013
Dear Republican Members of Congress,
We write to urge you to take action to fix our broken immigration system.
We believe that it is the responsibility of our elected leaders to ensure that our laws keep us safe and help our economy grow. Our current immigration system does neither. It rewards law- breakers at the expense of those who follow the rules. It turns away talented workers who can help our economy. And, by not controlling our borders, it makes all Americans less safe.
Doing nothing is de facto amnesty. We need to take control of whom we let in our country and we need to make sure everybody plays by the same rules. To fix our immigration system we need meaningful reforms that will (1) secure our borders, (2) provide a legal way for U.S.-based companies to hire the workers they need while making it impossible to hire workers here illegally, and (3) take control of our undocumented immigration problem by providing a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants who pay penalties and back taxes, pass criminal background checks, and go to the back of the line.
Standing in the way of reform ensures that we perpetuate a broken system that stifles our economy, leave millions of people living in America unaccounted for, maintain a porous border, and risk a long-lasting perception that Republicans would rather see nothing done than pass needed reform. That is not the path for the Republican Party.
Immigrants are often entrepreneurial, family-minded, and guided by faith. These are Republican values. Immigrants play key roles at every level of the American economy – from high-skill workers to seasonal laborers, from big city neighborhoods to small town main streets, immigrants help drive our economic growth. These are Republican issues. Republicans ought to be welcoming immigrants and be seen as doing so.
We firmly believe that with meaningful action on immigration reform, there is opportunity for both good policy and good politics for Republicans.
Sincerely,
Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Secretary Spencer Abraham, Former U.S. Brad Bailey, Co-Founder and CEO, Texas Secretary of Energy Immigration Solution Andy Ammons, President and CEO, John Barnes, CEO, Barnes Farming and Ammons Development Group Farm Pak Justus "Judd" Ammons, CEO and Lisa Barnes, Nash County Board of President, Ammons Mountain Properties Commissioners A. Scott Anderson, President and CEO, Ambassador Frank E. Baxter, Former U.S. Zions First National Bank Ambassador to Uruguay Bob Asher Mike Birck, Chairman Emeritus, Tellabs Boysie Bollinger, Chairman, President and Dr. Phil Frost, Chairman and CEO, Opko CEO, Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. Health, Inc. Norman Braman, CEO, Braman Chuck Fuller, CEO, The Results Company Enterprises Charles P. Gallagher, Chairman, Gallagher James S. and Marilyn Brown, President, Enterprises LLC Silberrad, Inc. Ron Gidwitz, Founder, GCG Partners Al Cardenas Ambassador Anthony H. Gioia, Former Russell L. Carson, Co-Founder and U.S. Ambassador to Malta Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Frank Grainger, President and CEO, Fair Stowe Products, Inc. James Click, Owner, Jim Click Val Hale, President and CEO, Utah Valley Automotive Team Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors Chuck and Sue Cobb, David Hanna, Chairman and CEO, FHP Former U.S. Ambassadors to Iceland and Wireless Inc. Jamaica David Herro, Partner and CIO, Judge Lew Conner, Senior Counsel, International Harris Associates LLP Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis David Horowitz, Horowitz Management Joe Craft, President and CEO, Alliance Inc. Resource Partners Bob Hughes, President and CEO, Hughes Remedios Diaz-Oliver, CEO, All Development Corp American Containers Kirk Humphreys, President, Humphreys Haskell Dickinson, President, McGeorge Company Contracting Mel Immergut, Chairman Emeritus, Alex Dunn, President, Vivint Inc. Milbank Secretary Don Evans, Former U.S. Orrin H. Ingram, President and Secretary of Commerce CEO, Ingram Industries Inc. Pepe Fanjul, Jr., Executive Vice President, Clark Ivory, President and CEO, Ivory Florida Crystals Corp Homes George Feldenkreis, Chairman and CEO, Jonathan Johnson, Executive Vice Perry Ellis International Chairman, Overstock.com Mike Fernandez, Chairman, MBF Stephen Joost, Partner, Firehouse Subs Healthcare Partners Don Kennedy, CEO, Kennedy Governor Luis Fortuno, Former Governor Engineering of Puerto Rico Bobbie Kilberg, Former Member, Charles Foster, Task Force on President’s Council of Advisors on Immigration, Greater Houston Partnership Science and Technology (PCAST) Sarah Frey, President and CEO, Frey Kelly Knight, Former U.S. Delegate to the Farms United Nations Jay Frederick Krehbiel, Molex Andrew F. Puzder, CEO, CKE Incorporated Restaurants, Inc. William C Kunkler, III, Executive Vice Dan Quayle, Former Vice President of the President, CC Industries United States David S. Layton, President and CEO, Richard Reisman, Publisher and CEO, Layton Construction Orange County Business Journal Governor Robert F. List, Former Governor Bob Reynolds, President and CEO, of Nevada Putnam Investments Stan Lockhart, Former Chairman, Utah Secretary Tom Ridge, First Secretary of Republican Party the U.S. Department of Homeland Dick Long, Chairman, Diving Unlimited Security, Former Governor of International, Inc. Pennsylvania Peter A. Magowan Julian Robertson, Chairman, Tiger Management, LLC Fred Malek, Chairman, Thayer Lodging Group and Finance Chairman, Republican Doug Robinson, Co-Founder and Governors Association Managing Director, St. Charles Capital, Colorado Chair Romney for President, Bob Mayo, Vice Chairman of the Board, Cancer Treatment Centers of America Ambassador John Rood, Former U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas and Charlie McNeil, President and CEO, Chairman, Vestcor NexGen Resources Ambassador Francis Rooney, Former U.S. Ken Mehlman, Former Chairman, Ambassador to the Holy See and Former Republican National Committee CEO of Rooney Holdings Tim Minton, Executive Vice President, Steve Ross, Chairman and CEO, Related Raleigh/Wake Homebuilders Association Companies Larry A. Mizel, Chairman and CEO, Karl Rove M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. John Rowe, Chairman and CEO, Exelon Jacob Monty, Board Member, Hispanic Corporation Republicans of Texas and Attorney Muneer Satter, Chairman, Satter Jack Oliver, Senior Policy Advisor, Bryan Investment Management, LLC Cave LLP Justin Sayfie, Esq., Founding Shareholder, Sam Outten, Partner, Womble Carlyle Sayfie Law Firm Scott Parson, President and CEO, Staker Lewis Smoak, Founder, Ogletree, Deakins Parson Companies Law Firm Bruce Payne, President and CFO, Laramie Charlie Spies, Co-Founder, Republicans Energy II, LLC for Immigration Reform Ray Pickup, President and CEO, Workers Matt Stava, CEO and Managing Principal, Compensation Fund Spinnaker Tom Stemberg, Managing General Partner G. Ed Williamson II, Chairman and CEO, Highland Consumer Fund Williamson Automotive Group Carl Thoma, Co-Founder and Managing Fred S. Zeidman Partner, THOMA BRAVO Spencer Zwick, Managing Partner, David Tumbull, CEO, Brighton Homes Solamere Group Former National Finance Ambassador Robert H. Tuttle, Former Chairman, Romney for President U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Hispanic 100 Frank VanderSloot, CEO Melaleuca, Inc. Lincoln Club of Orange County Ambassador Marilyn Ware, Former U.S. New Majority Orange County Ambassador to the Republic of Finland New Majority San Diego and former Chairman of American Water Works