St. Anthony: Business is making case for immigration reform

The politics that has stalled comprehensive immigration reform hurts affected businesses, workers and communities that benefit from the economic, cultural and human benefits.

President Obama is using his presidential authority to grant work permits to up to 5 million immigrants living illegally, or undocumented, in the United States, and shield them from deportations that Obama has carried out at a record pace for several years.

I'll leave the constitutional authority questions to legal experts.

However, it is past time to move toward a sensible immigration ­policy.

This is not necessarily a liberal argument. But one that acknowledges reality and the broad benefits.

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, for example, no denizen of the left wing and the state's largest lobby for Minnesota small businesses, has advocated reform along with a coalition of immigrant-rights groups for five years.

Throw out the human case of separating families and deporting hardworking people who are not criminals. The pragmatic, compassionate and economic case is strong in favor of retaining the 11 million or so undocumented immigrants in our workplaces, schools and neighborhoods.

Proven benefit

A report last month by the Minnesota Business Immigration Coalition underscores, once again, the key economic and cultural role that the state's foreign-born population plays. The report's underwriters include the Minnesota Chamber and other industry associations, the Partnership for a New American Economy, a bipartisan group seeking reform, and the Council of the Americas.

Bill Blazar, interim president of the Minnesota Chamber, said the report states "loud and clear that immigrants are key to the development and growth of Minnesota's economy. The only thing limiting their contributions is the current immigration system. It's broken and needs fixing now. We can't think of a better or more effective federal job creation program than passing immigration reform legislation."

The Minnesota Chamber also favors an "affordable way for current immigrants and their families, regardless of status to become documented legal participants in our society. We support a path to ­permanent residency for all immigrants residing in the United States who are not otherwise excluded for reasons such as criminal convictions."

The critics say that's an unacceptable "amnesty." Well, mass deportations haven't worked. Give those affected a chance to earn citizenship through a well-defined ­process.

"A path toward formalization [of citizenship] would be welcomed," said Robert Valdez Jr., the son of immigrants, and a graduate of Minnesota State University, Moorhead, who left as executive director of the Willmar Area Multicultural Business Center last week to focus on his own small business. "What we have now creates issues. Problems. Uncertainty for business, workers and families.

"Companies are trying to figure it out … and we need to form a path [to citizenship]."

Rules are frustrating

Nobody benefits from plant raids and deportations that often sends parents back to Latin America and strands the kids here.

Business people, generally, and the public are more pragmatic than members of the U.S. House who have opposed the immigration legislation passed by the Senate, and who are considering suing the president. And deporting some 400,000 otherwise law-abiding people annually, disrupting families and frustrating employers is a bad status quo.

Teresa Bohnen, president of the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce, said her members are frustrated with trying to comply with the complicated rules of current immigration law. They fear immigration raids by authorities. And their overriding need is more workers who show up and can be trained.

Obama has acted out of frustration with Congress.

Business and immigrant employees, shift workers in factories and doctors from India or Asia, deserve a simple and accurate status verification system that is affordable and accessible. What's indisputable is the economic benefit immigrants bring to Minnesota.

According to the October study, immigrants contribute more than $22.4 billion to the Minnesota economy annually, $1.2 billion in state and local taxes and more than $1.5 billion to Social Security, even though noncitizen immigrants are ineligible for benefits.

Youth factor

Bruce Corrie, a professor and immigration expert at Concordia University in St. Paul, has long debunked myths about immigrant costs to society. Indeed, immigrants and their kids, through resettlement, education and other services, initially cost taxpayers some money. But they and their children become net economic contributors, according to ongoing research by Corrie and others.

Corrie and Sarah Radosevich, a policy research analyst at the Minnesota Chamber, concluded in a 2013 study that immigrants are significant net contributors to ­state coffers through high-end and low-wage jobs and pay $800 million in state and local taxes annually, about the same amount as the state's corporate income tax.

Moreover, they tend to be younger than the average Minnesota adult worker. They will be needed if the economy is going to expand amid retiring baby boomers, the biggest generation by far. Already immigrants represent 9 percent of the Minnesota workforce even though they are only about 7 percent of the population.

Moreover, the recent studies find that immigrants disproportionately are rebuilding inner-city and small-town economies and pushing up housing values. In Willmar, where Valdez's wife is a teacher, up to half the classes are filled with first-or-second generation immigrant kids. Their education is an investment in our economic future and a strengthened ­community.

Shegitu Kebede, an Ethiopian immigrant and co-owner of Flamingo Restaurant in St. Paul's Midway, doesn't want to get into the volatile politics of immigration reform. She just said: "This is the only country where a refugee like me can become a business owner."

Interestingly, 40 percent of Minnesota's Fortune 500 companies were founded by first- or second-generation immigrants, according to the Minnesota Chamber.

Neal St. Anthony • 612-673-7144