The PA Chamber supports federal immigration policies that serve as a catalyst to enhance U.S.-based companies' international competitiveness and will help provide an adequate and predictable workforce. This includes expanding and improving administration of the programs that provide employer-sponsored green cards and temporary work visas, along with increasing the ability of highly qualified foreign students to attend American institutions of higher education and to remain in the United States following receipt of their degrees. The PA Chamber further supports efforts to improve and ensure the accuracy of the federal E-Verify system, which is intended to be a database through which employers can confirm the legal status of current or prospective employees, though not as a mandate on the business community.
Public policy related to immigration can significantly impact Pennsylvania employers, particularly in a globalizing economy in which businesses around the world are competing for talent. Lawmakers and public officials developing and enforcing immigration policy should strive to benefit employers and recognize how immigration policy and immigrants specifically contribute to American and Pennsylvania’s prosperity.
Accordingly, the PA Chamber supports federal immigration policies that serve as a catalyst to enhance U.S.-based companies’ international competitiveness and will help provide an adequate and predictable workforce:
The PA Chamber further supports efforts to improve and ensure the accuracy of the federal E-Verify system: a database through which employers can confirm the legal status of prospective employees. Should federal or state law require confirmation of an applicant’s legal status through E-verify, the PA Chamber believes the law should: