In February 2021, MeBIC joined forces with the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) to amplify our efforts to get federal immigration reforms over the finish line in 2021.
ABIC is comprised of over 1200 business leaders and state chapters from across the country who know that the country’s economic future is tied to the ability to modernize the nation’s badly outdated and dysfunctional federal immigration laws.
The last time Congress substantially revised U.S. immigration laws was 30 years ago. Since then, “baby boomers” have gotten 30 years older and closer to retirement age, while the nation’s birthrates have fallen to their lowest levels since 1909. Meanwhile, the economy is more globalized than ever, and countries around the world are competing for international talent. Our federal immigration laws have not kept up with the nation’s, or Maine’s, demographic or economic realities.
By working with ABIC, MeBIC can amplify the voices of Maine’s business community in the national efforts to make sure that Congress enacts common-sense immigration reforms this year that respond to the needs of businesses, while eliminating backlogs that keep immediate families divided and willing workers waiting years for residency, creating pathways to legal status for the undocumented, and allowing those fleeing persecution to seek and gain refuge in the U.S..