On Wednesday, congressional members, including Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), and business leaders held a ‘Secure America’s Workforce’ rally on Capitol Hill to discuss immigration reform.
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Good morning, my name is Rebecca Shi and I am the CEO of the American Business Immigration
00:07Coalition.
00:08Welcome to Secure America's Workforce Fly-in.
00:13Alright, so for those of us that was at the orientation, we are here because we want to
00:22secure our border and secure the workforce and we can do both.
00:30And we're really, really thankful for our host today, you'll hear from him shortly.
00:37He is an apple farmer, a fighter and a winner, Congressman Dan Newhouse from the great state
00:45of Washington.
00:46Thank you, Congressman.
00:47And the other exciting thing is you will hear shortly from Representative Salazar about
00:57the reintroduction of the AFU Act and we are so thankful for Ashley and all of the AFU
01:03families and the chairman of the Problem Solver Caucus is with us today, Tom Suozzi.
01:09So we have 1.7 million worker shortage in the U.S. and growing, which is driving up
01:21the cost of food and housing for everyday Americans.
01:26When labor goes down, prices go up.
01:31That's why ABIC and our partners are kicking off Secure America's Workforce.
01:37We are a coalition of American business leaders and entrepreneurs representing 4.7 million
01:46employers and their workers for common sense solutions.
01:51We're delivering a letter signed by hundreds of employers to the White House and Congress
01:58asking them to both secure our border and secure our workforce.
02:05We can do both.
02:0846%, as you see the data here, of our Fortune 500 companies are founded by immigrants or
02:19their children.
02:2030% of construction workers, over 50% of our agricultural workers, 40% of our hospitality
02:27workers, 25% of small businesses and 30% of our elder care workers are immigrants.
02:36Immigrants are a crucial part of the talent that employers depend on.
02:41We are the world's greatest economy, despite being only 4% of the world population.
02:47This requires both domestic and international talent.
02:52That's why we're here to support the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, the Dignity Act,
02:58the AFU Act, all bipartisan efforts to both secure our border and secure our workforce.
03:06So first, we want to thank President Trump for successfully securing the border.
03:13Border encounters are down 94% since one year ago, as we heard from the President's State
03:21of the Union.
03:22But inflation continues to be stubbornly high and rising.
03:27That's why we're here to ask Congress and the President to do the second part.
03:32Let's also secure our workforce and bring down inflation.
03:37We also know this is very popular with the American public and Republican primary voters.
03:45Because we did a poll on this.
03:46We're happy to share with the press.
03:48I am thrilled to introduce somebody who won his Republican primary and then sold his company,
03:55SkyMall, to Rupert Murdoch at the age of 46.
03:58Hailing from the great state of Utah, please welcome ABIC's Board Chairman, Senator Bob
04:04Worsley.
04:05Thank you, Rebecca.
04:13I'm a founder of a home building company, a factory home building company, and a former
04:18state Republican senator from Arizona.
04:22We've lived through this before in Arizona alone.
04:27We're now living through it together as a nation.
04:30My company builds stackable, factory-built homes, beautiful and affordable homes.
04:37We build for Utah, Arizona, California, and Idaho.
04:41My wife, Kristi, and I live in Utah, and we're also devout members and leaders in our church.
04:49We live and care about folks that live here in our country, regardless of their circumstances.
04:57We have a housing shortage, and we have a workforce crisis.
05:02The country faces a housing shortage of over 4 million homes, driving up prices and rents.
05:09A key obstacle to building more housing in this country is a shortage of construction
05:15workers, which slows projects and raises costs.
05:21As of last July, we had 250,000 construction jobs that were unfilled.
05:29450,000 additional workers are needed by 2025, the end of this year.
05:36Immigrant workers make up nearly 35 percent of the construction workforce, and half of
05:42those are without documents.
05:45Removing these workers would worsen the shortage, intensify the housing crisis, and make it
05:50even harder for affordable housing in America.
05:55That's why, as part of my personal passion here, we're calling on Congress for common-sense
06:02solutions to provide work permits and green cards to law-abiding immigrants.
06:08These are the workers who show up to do the hard work, build homes, and help lower housing
06:14costs for Americans.
06:17It's now my opportunity to, and honor, to introduce someone who has been leading the
06:23charge on common-sense immigration solutions in Congress.
06:27He's a dedicated fighter for American farmers and consumers, an apple farmer from the great
06:33state of Washington, and I think it's kind of funny that they put a homebuilder before
06:38him because he's building his name, Congressman Newhouse.
06:43We're all about new houses.
06:47If you don't mind, I'd like to introduce Congressman Dan Newhouse.
06:55I'm sure that was no coincidence.
06:57It just happened on purpose.
06:59Good morning, everybody.
07:01I'm honored to be here in front of you to welcome you to Washington, D.C., and welcome
07:08you to the fight, to the effort that we have going on in Congress to make sure that we
07:14can protect the workforce of the United States.
07:18Immigrant workers are the most important workers that we have.
07:22They truly are.
07:23Because without them, from my perspective, we would not have an agricultural industry.
07:29I'm a farmer, as you heard, from the great state of Washington.
07:34We depend on immigrant workers to make sure that all of you have food on the table when
07:41you sit down with your families.
07:43It is one of the most basic industries that you can think of.
07:49And without a workforce, we are truly putting ourselves at risk.
07:55With everything that's going on in the world today and the pressures that we're feeling,
08:01all of us are feeling at increased prices, at the grocery store.
08:06One thing that we have to do that will help keep those prices from continuing to rise
08:12is ensure that American agriculture has a legal workforce.
08:17It's a requirement.
08:19It's a necessity.
08:20I, along with many others in Congress, and I should shout out some of their names.
08:24I just left a meeting with Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren from California, Congressman Mike
08:30Simpson from Idaho.
08:31The list is long of the people that are engaged in this effort to make sure that agriculture
08:37has a dependable workforce on into the future that is legal.
08:43That we can be proud of the fact that we employ people that are in this country legally.
08:50That's what we all want.
08:51The workers and the employers.
08:53So we have to continue to do that.
08:56I am very optimistic.
08:59So Rebecca, Avik, I want to thank all of you for your helping to bring this issue to the
09:05level that it needs to be in order to have success.
09:10I think we have a lot of things that are working in our favor.
09:13I truly do.
09:15The current administration, President Trump has made it his priority to bring down grocery
09:21prices.
09:23My answer to that, make sure that we have a legal dependable workforce.
09:29That's very, very basic.
09:30Secure the workforce.
09:33A year ago, as you heard, the border was in crisis.
09:39Rebecca gave you the numbers.
09:41We went from, I think, a year ago, February, over 144,000 encounters of people trying to
09:48come into the country illegally.
09:51This year in February, that number was down to like 8,000.
09:55A huge, remarkable decrease.
09:58So the reason that many people in Congress have told me that they can't support our efforts
10:05because we have a crisis at the southern border, guess what?
10:09That reason is gone.
10:11That excuse no longer exists.
10:15So I think we have an opportunity in front of us to make sure that our workforce in agriculture
10:23and in many other aspects of our economy can be here legally.
10:29And the third reason I'm so optimistic is over the last several years, members of the
10:38agricultural community, both on the labor side and the employer side, have been doing
10:45the key to making our system work.
10:47And you know what that is?
10:49They are making their voices heard to their members of Congress.
10:53People understand now how important this issue is, how important it is to food security,
10:59as I mentioned, but national security as well.
11:03So for those reasons, I want to thank you for being here.
11:07I want to thank you for helping elevate this issue, for getting the word out, because I
11:12truly think this is the Congress that we can make it happen.
11:16The credit is going to go to everybody that's making the effort to be here in Washington, D.C.
11:22to help those of us in Congress who are leading the charge be successful.
11:27Thank you very much.
11:37Good morning, everyone.
11:39I'm a wife, a mother, an American citizen who simply believes that no one should have
11:46to choose between their country and their family.
11:50Yet, that's exactly the choice the immigration laws forced 1.2 million U.S. citizens to make.
12:00As I grew up in a dairy farm in rural Ohio of Irish and German immigrants, I understood
12:08the American dream.
12:10That is why I joined American Families United to fight for the 1.2 million U.S. citizens,
12:16like myself, who simply want a chance to keep our families together.
12:22I am so grateful for Congresswoman Salazar, Congresswoman Escobar, Congressman Valadao
12:29and Congressman Espiot for their leadership in introducing the American Families United Act,
12:36a bipartisan bill that would give U.S. citizens access to existing legal pathways
12:43to keep our families together.
12:46The dedication to this cause gives hope to so many American families.
12:51However, they cannot do this alone.
12:54We call on lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to stand with us in supporting these
13:02bipartisan solutions.
13:03And to the Trump administration, we urge you to do what no administration has done before.
13:10Fix the broken immigration system so that it is fair for our families.
13:15Now, it is my honor to introduce a true champion of all families, Congresswoman Ria Salazar.
13:24Thank you, thank you, thank you.
13:31And I agree with my colleagues, bipartisan coalition that we have here, that this is
13:39one of the most important topics that we are facing as lawmakers.
13:45We are proud Republicans and we do know, and I agree with you, House, that this is the
13:50to fix the immigration system that has been broken for the last 40 years.
13:55For everybody.
13:56For the families, for the agricultural, for construction, for hospitality, for the average American.
14:05President Trump promised that he was going to seal the border.
14:09He did.
14:10That he was going to deport Trinidad Agua.
14:12He's doing it.
14:13That he was going to do away with the gangs, MS-13.
14:16He was going to send them back to El Salvador.
14:19And that is happening as we speak.
14:21So we applaud that because no one wanted an open border.
14:24No one wanted four years of open borders with 10 million people, many of them Trinidad Agua,
14:30many of them child sex traffickers, bringing kids from Central and South America.
14:37We don't know where they are and we need to find them.
14:39So the problem was immense.
14:41But this administration fixed it in 40 days.
14:46As Newhouse said, our country has been built on immigrants.
14:54My parents are first generation Cuban American.
14:57Others are Greek Americans, others are Italian.
15:00It doesn't matter.
15:01We all come from somewhere.
15:03And right now, as statistics indicate, we have from 10 to 12 million people who are immigrants.
15:11Many of them sound and look like me.
15:13Hispanics from Central and South America.
15:16Who have been here for more than five years.
15:19They are not the people who just arrived through the border four years ago.
15:23Who have been the silent heroes.
15:25They have been doing in silence, day after day, the work that is needed for our economy to grow.
15:33In agricultural, in construction, in hospitality.
15:36These people do not have a criminal record.
15:39Many of them have American children.
15:41Many of them have been paying taxes year after year.
15:44Knowing that they are not going to get that money back.
15:47But nonetheless, they are here because they love the American dream.
15:51And they have helped us to have food by Friday.
15:54As Newhouse said, to have new homes for the workforce.
15:57And to be able to go to nice hotels and pay a cheap price.
16:02So, it's time to do something revolutionary.
16:09And give them a dignified life in the promised land.
16:14And that is the name of my bill.
16:16Four years ago, we introduced it.
16:18You were not in the house.
16:20He was one of those who accompanied me on this trek.
16:24But now is the moment to bring dignity back.
16:28And that is what we are doing.
16:30The Dignity Act of 2025.
16:32We are about to introduce it.
16:34It's going to be revolutionary.
16:36Why? Because it's going to be Salamanca.
16:39It's going to be in the middle.
16:41We're going to cut the baby in two.
16:43And we are going to satisfy those people in the agricultural,
16:47in the hospitality, in the construction,
16:50the political sector, the Republicans and the Democrats.
16:54It's not perfect, but it's the art of the possible.
16:57And we are going to be able to fix once and for all,
17:0040 years of a broken system, the immigration system.
17:04This is what all have been working on for four years.
17:09And I do believe that the Trump administration
17:11will be the one fixing the problem.
17:13Trump is not going to be the guy who's fixed the problem in Israel.
17:17Or with the Houthis.
17:19Or with Ukraine and Russia.
17:21He will also be the guy who will give us internally
17:25a solid and sound immigration system.
17:28The Dignity Act cares about those 10 to 15 million people
17:35who have American children,
17:37who have been paying taxes,
17:38who do not have a criminal record,
17:40and who have put food on the table year after year,
17:44or built the homes,
17:46or helped the hospitality industry,
17:49and they have helped growth,
17:51they have brought growth to our economy.
17:54We will not be able to continue
17:56being the number one economy in the world
17:58if we do not have hands.
18:01And those hands are inside.
18:03I'm not talking about those people who came in through,
18:06I'm talking about those who are coming in,
18:08I'm talking about the ones who are here,
18:10and they have roots,
18:11and we all know them,
18:12and we love them,
18:13because most of them have not committed a crime.
18:17So I thank you.
18:18As Newhouse said,
18:19we need all of you.
18:20We need all of you in the immigration space
18:23to call our fellow congressmen and congresswomen
18:27on the Republican side,
18:29on the Democratic side,
18:30and explain to them that there is a group of people inside already
18:35who are helping us continue being
18:38the number one country in the world.
18:40So thanks again.
18:41We're here to help you,
18:43and to join you in this common fight
18:46of fixing our immigration system
18:48and bringing dignity to those people
18:50who live among us,
18:51who are helping us.
18:52That's the Christian thing to do.
18:54That's the right thing to do.
18:55That's the Republican thing to do.
18:58Woo!
19:05Do you think I'm really going to remember all of them?
19:09In Spanish?
19:10All right.
19:17All right.
19:18She's saying in Spanish.
19:19Where's Spanish here?
19:20Where's Spanish?
19:22Right there, okay.
19:23So...
19:28I want to remind the administration that this is the time to give dignity to those who live in the United States.
19:39We are talking about those people who have been in the United States for more than five years, those people who have American children,
19:44the people who have paid taxes, the people who are doing the work in a silent way that no one else does,
19:51the people who have been in the United States for years helping in construction, hospitality, and agriculture.
19:58Those are the people who deserve now, when those borders are closed, they deserve to come out of the darkness and give them dignity.
20:06Dignity so that they continue to live in a dignified way in the promised land.
20:10I am going to present a legislation, a law called the Dignity Law, and I need everyone to help me because I can't do it alone.
20:18That's why we have Republicans and Democrats, to be able to fight together and make this country fix its immigration problem once and for all.
20:27President Trump is the one who can do it. He did it in Ukraine, he did it with Russia, he did it in the Middle East, he did it with the Houthis,
20:34and now he is going to do it internally with immigration. Thank you very much for your support.
20:48President Trump received over 46% of Latino votes. Out of those 46%, 50% of them were male.
21:05I was one of those that voted for President Trump because we needed a change.
21:10We needed a change in that we noticed that the administration in the past, many of them, and for 40 years, had a blind spot for the Mexican community.
21:19We felt, we felt there was time for a change and time to vote.
21:25We need, we're asking President Trump, okay, so we're here to support his statement that he made in Meet the Press on the Dreamers Belong Here.
21:38We're asking President Trump to please find the dignity that the previous administration found for many of the new arrivals,
21:45like from Ukraine, Cuba, Salvador, Venezuela, Nicaraguans, Haitians, that came to the United States with a work visa.
21:54We are asking just to be treated with dignity and respect, a work visa for those who have been here for decades paying taxes,
22:02contributing to the work and contributing to the growth of our country.
22:07We're asking President Trump to please help us pass immigration reform and Congress to bring common sense to the table,
22:15where we have elected officials of Democrats on both sides of the party.
22:19Now I would like to bring to the podium someone who has common sense and deals with everyday issues of Americans and everyday issues, Congressman Tom Schwartz.
22:31Okay, let's hear it for the American Business Immigration Council.
22:39You know, I'm a Democrat and I'm here with these two Republicans and there are Democrats and Republicans throughout the Capitol
22:48that are trying to work together to find a solution to the immigration crisis here in America.
22:54We have to secure the border, we have to fix the broken asylum system,
22:58and we have to treat people like human beings and secure the workforce.
23:01Now to do that is going to require people to work together, to look beyond their little silos and to try and find common ground.
23:09And people like Dan and Maria and myself and Brian Fitzpatrick, who wanted to be here today,
23:13who's in an intelligence briefing right now, but he's my co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus,
23:19and Veronica Escobar as well, and a whole bunch of other people, Democrats and Republicans,
23:25that are working on trying to find common ground.
23:28In the Problem Solvers Caucus, we have 50 members of Congress, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans,
23:34that have a workforce that is working on trying to find common ground.
23:38We have bills like Maria and Veronica's bill.
23:41We have the Farm Work Modernization Act that Dan was working on just today with a bunch of Democrats and Republicans.
23:47There's work that I've been doing with a guy named Marcus Luttrell from Texas.
23:52So we have to secure the border. We have to fix the broken asylum system.
23:58We have to make a legal pathway for the DREAMers, for the temporary protective status recipients,
24:04for the farm workers, for the health care workers, for the other essential workers, for the spouses of U.S. citizens.
24:10We have to work together to finally resolve an issue that the American people want us to do.
24:16And to do that, we need everyone here.
24:18We have to build a coalition, or continue building a coalition, of business, badges, and the Bible,
24:25all working together to solve these problems, to secure the border, and to treat people like human beings.
24:32Working together, we can do that, but we need all of you to participate.
24:35Thank you very much, everybody. Vamos a seguir adelante juntos.
24:40All right. I know the members have to go back. I just want to take a few questions for the members before we continue.
24:48Questions from the back.
24:50My name is Jesus Garcia from La Opinion. Thank you for doing this.
24:54I just wanted to ask you, since President Trump is the one that can push Republicans in Congress to do this thing,
25:01have you had any kind of meeting with him, or are you going to bring him on the table to support this project?
25:09The Trump administration understands that after we have secured the border like we have,
25:16and that we're deporting the criminals who happen to be illegals,
25:19there has to be a national conversation that will start very soon.
25:23What are we going to do with the whole immigration system,
25:26and how are we going to help the workforce that you guys are talking about, construction, hospitality, and agriculture?
25:32What are we going to do with those people who are needed, who are here, and who are in the shadows?
25:38Trump is a construction guy. He knows very well what's needed to maintain the economy going.
25:45So I am sure that when this national conversation starts,
25:49after we introduce the Dignity Act, the White House and the whole Republican leadership
25:55will be highly, highly respectful and aware and open to discuss what the Dignity Act has.
26:02I just told you, it's revolutionary. It's like Solomonic.
26:05It's going to please everyone, but it's not going to give everything to everybody.
26:10But it's a solution, the first one in 40 years.
26:13And I am sure that Trump will be for immigration what Reagan was for communism. Thank you.
26:20I would just say that the agricultural industry supported President Trump very strongly.
26:27He understands the issues of food security.
26:31Having a national American food supply system is of utmost importance.
26:37Many of the things that he promised during his campaign line up exactly with the things that we are trying to accomplish
26:44as it relates to the workforce in the United States.
26:48So those conversations are happening.
26:51We are working toward making sure that we are both on the same page, which I feel very comfortable about.
26:57And so you are absolutely right, that's the key to success.
27:02President Trump can help make this happen.
27:04And so I am not going to be the one having the conversations directly with President Trump.
27:08Well, I probably will be, but the reality is that President Trump campaigned on
27:13and spoke at his inaugural address about reducing prices.
27:16You cannot reduce prices if you don't have the workers to do the jobs that are necessary in the country.
27:22Most of the workers in the agricultural workforce in the United States of America are undocumented.
27:27There are undocumented people in the hospitality interest.
27:31There are undocumented people in the construction industry.
27:33There are undocumented people in the healthcare industry.
27:36You cannot not have these workers.
27:38So when you hear the slogan, secure the border and secure the workforce,
27:43you need to have a workforce that can do the jobs that are necessary to keep our economy moving.
27:48If President Trump wants to reduce prices like we all do,
27:51we are going to need to do something to have a secure workforce in America.
27:56So that's why it's three things together.
27:58Secure the border, fix the broken asylum system,
28:01and modernize the legal immigration system to treat people like human beings.
28:06Any other questions?
28:08Can you identify yourself?
28:34What is amnesty?
28:35Amnesty is what the undocumented have right now.
28:38Amnesty is free roads, free schools, and free hospitals.
28:42We don't want amnesty. We want dignity.
28:44We're going to go from amnesty to dignity.
28:47Dignity that will have to pay a fine, that will have to pay to stay,
28:51and they will then be able to enjoy the American dream while they're giving to us what we need.
28:56Agricultural, secure workforce in three main industries to start off with.
29:01Agricultural, construction, and hospitality.
29:03If we don't have those hands in those three sectors,
29:06we're not going to have food by Friday and the economy may not grow.
29:10I don't have to explain it.
29:11So it's not amnesty, it's dignity.
29:14It's time to change that word.
29:16That word doesn't mean anything.
29:18They will have to pay for the violation they committed in coming in illegally.
29:22Someone gave them a job, someone made them stay,
29:25and someone profited from their labor.
29:29Let's have a level playing field, and that's why I'm talking about amnesty.
29:34I mean dignity, not amnesty.
29:39You're not going to convince everybody in the Republican Party,
29:42you're not going to convince everybody in the Democratic Party.
29:44That's why you need people to work together to build this coalition of people
29:48that believe in common sense solutions to the problems that we face.
29:51That's why we're working so hard.
29:53Now it's not easy, it's taken 30 years for us to do it,
29:55but I think the moment is right right now for us to find that common ground to move forward.
30:04I'm just curious, do you think that the rhetoric surrounding immigrants in the country
30:09needs to change in order for you to have these bipartisan conversations
30:14and get this legislation done?
30:17I think the rhetoric is changing when you hear the people who are speaking right here.
30:22I'm not saying things unlike other things people say.
30:24I'm the Democrat, I'm saying we've got to secure the border.
30:26The Republicans are saying we've got to legalize people.
30:28We're changing the rhetoric, and we've just got to keep on doing it.
30:31That's part of politics.
30:32You have to just keep on moving, keep on pushing, keep on pressing,
30:35and build a coalition of people like the folks that are here and throughout the country
30:38that want to work to solve this issue.
30:40That's what politics does.
30:42This is a new time.
30:44This is a new time.
30:46Four years of fighting taught us what you can analyze.
30:51I thought it was the worst thing that could have happened
30:53to the Hispanic largest minority in the country in 100 years
30:58because by opening up the border for four years and allowing 10 million people,
31:05then you erased from the table the conversation of what are we going to do with DACA?
31:09What are we going to do with these families?
31:11What are we going to do with DAPA?
31:13What are we going to do with the Dreamers?
31:14What are we going to do with TPS?
31:16All that got erased because we had the influx.
31:19We had that gush of people.
31:21So now we're trying to bring that back to the table, start that conversation,
31:26and the only people who can do this are the 435 members of Congress,
31:31and that's why we're here.
31:33We're going to be talking to our colleagues, the Democrats and the Republicans,
31:37and I am sure because this is a new reality and we need a new national conversation
31:43that we'll have to fix something that has been broken for 40 years,
31:47and it's our duty.
31:48And I do believe that the White House, I mean, there's a new sheriff in town
31:52and he gets it, and he will get that at some point we've got to fix this problem,
31:56just like many others.
31:59And I would just add one thing, reiterate that the dynamic is different
32:04than it was four years ago, than it was a year ago, than it was several months ago.
32:10If you look at those numbers that I quoted to you about the illegal encounters on the border,
32:17the picture is completely different.
32:20And that truly was the reason that many members of Congress would use
32:26to say they cannot support any changes in our visa programs,
32:30any changes in our immigration and asylum programs.
32:33So it's a new world. It truly is.
32:36And now people are speaking up, enforcing the fact that the people
32:41that are helping to build our country, many of them, who we need,
32:46who are essential, need to have a legal status.
32:50So that's what's done.
32:53My question is, beyond changing the rhetoric, how will you rebuild the trust with immigrants?
33:01We've had green card holders, TPS holders, Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans,
33:06people who pay taxes.
33:08Now the Trump administration has access to undocumented people who pay taxes.
33:12How do you rebuild that trust when the government might be trying to track them down?
33:15Very simple. Very simple. Very simple.
33:19Introducing legislation, like the one I'm going to introduce, the Dignity Act,
33:24and have people like Newhouse next to me and other members of the Republican Conference
33:29and other members of the Democratic Congress.
33:32That's very simple. You introduce legislation and you ask the Lord to help you
33:37and guide you how to make it into law.
33:39But we have, we're resolute.
33:43We know within the Republican Party that we need to solve the problem
33:47and that is why we're introducing something that is going to be revolutionary
33:51and I would like all of you to follow us and to help us make it into a reality.
33:56That's the way. Doing the work, writing the legislation, and putting it in the hopper.
34:01One more question? Go ahead.
34:07Evan Carr, NBC.
34:08Hey, the President has said, hey, this is going to be a lot of short-term pain
34:12with tariffs and immigration.
34:14Is the American Business Council ready to deal with that short-term pain as business owners?
34:18And are you, Congress people, prepared for your voters to endure that short-term pain?
34:25So, as the APEC CEOs, we have hundreds on the Hill today.
34:32We're asking Congress and the President for comments and solutions.
34:36The President ran on border security and securing the border
34:41and he has done that successfully and we want to thank him for that.
34:44And so we're here for the other half.
34:46Secure the workforce because that's what's going to bring down inflation,
34:50bring down the cost of goods and services and housing.
34:54And because when we don't have adequate labor, prices will go up as we're seeing that today.
35:00And so that's why we're here, because we need a solution on inflation and the economy as well.
35:08We're going to have a few other employers just to share the economic impact at this moment.
35:13I want to introduce Rachel Roberts from the American Mushroom Institute
35:16and also thank our members of Congress who have to run to a vote, so they have to run early.
35:21Go ahead, Rachel.
35:22I'm so glad that the members of Congress are here and are talking about working together
35:27because that's exactly what we need.
35:29My name is Rachel Roberts, I'm the President of American Mushroom
35:33and we're the National Trade Association for Mushroom Growers.
35:36So if you like fresh mushrooms and if you like fresh food produced in the United States,
35:42you should be very interested in this issue of workforce.
35:46In our industry, for example, we employ 21,000 people across the country
35:51and they're contributing to the economy and they're building communities
35:55and their kids are going to our schools and high schools and they're coming back to our industry.
36:00So we see the mushroom industry and U.S. grown food as a story of success of immigrant labor.
36:09For decades, we've relied on these immigrants and we need legislation
36:13that allows those who are already here to continue to work here.
36:17The Farm Workforce Modernization Act was a really great standard bearer for an idea,
36:23a legislation that should be brought up again.
36:26What Representative Salazar is bringing up is going to be very helpful for us.
36:31We want to push these things across the line.
36:34I have with me today a grower from Pennsylvania.
36:37While mushrooms are grown across the United States,
36:40two-thirds of America's mushrooms are grown in Pennsylvania.
36:43So D'Amico Farms, John D'Amico is a fourth-generation mushroom grower
36:48and he works every day alongside the immigrants that work on his farm.
36:53So we can get common sense bipartisan legislation through.
36:58We need it not just for farmers who see immigrants as employees.
37:03No, we need it for our rural communities where the immigrants are also the bedrock of the community,
37:09going to schools, shopping in the same grocery stores as all of us who live in these farming communities.
37:15They represent 20% of the agricultural workforce across the country.
37:20In our industry, it's even more than that.
37:22So they're critical for mushrooms to keep growing, for the mushroom industry to keep grabbing wonderful headlines.
37:29We hope that you all are eating them and excited about them.
37:34But it's just not that simple.
37:36They can go away if we don't have the immigrant workforce that we need,
37:40that enjoys working in our industry, and that works there year-round.
37:45So our industry, similar to others, doesn't get H-2A visas, right?
37:50That's not the only answer.
37:52If you have a year-round industry that needs year-round employees,
37:56you're going to need a different solution other than H-2A visas.
37:59You need a certified agricultural workforce program.
38:04You need something that is going to bring people here, but on a basis that can bring them year-round.
38:10If you're not a seasonal crop, you're going to miss out if you can't get H-2A, and that's where mushrooms fall.
38:16Dairy as well.
38:18So we need the reforms that the workers need to stay here.
38:23We're excited about what we're hearing in Congress,
38:26that there's a bipartisan effort to bring some of these acts forward.
38:30And, you know, that's why we're here today.
38:33So just thank you, John, for attending with us today.
38:36Think about your farmers who are fourth, fifth, sixth generation farmers,
38:40but also think about the workforce that works alongside them.
38:44Thank you so much, Rachel.
38:46I'm so pleased to introduce our next speaker, Ana Valdez,
38:49who is the CEO of the Latino Donor Collaborative.
38:52And the reason we have some wonderful and foreign people around us today.
38:55So, Ana.
38:57Thank you so much, Becca, and thank you, AVIC, for this important effort.
39:03So my name is Ana Valdez, as I was saying, CEO of the Latino Donor Collaborative.
39:07We're a think tank that creates the data that shows the real contributions of Latinos in the United States,
39:12the economic ones.
39:14And to your point about the ABC reporter about rhetoric,
39:19we are the ones providing the data to show the reality, right?
39:22The rhetoric is a stereotype.
39:24The data shows exactly who we are.
39:26And so all the numbers that you see here about the contributions come from us.
39:30Adrian, to your question also, I think there is so much about the perception that we need to change.
39:36And I think we're in the mission of closing that gap between the perception and the reality with numbers,
39:42with fact-based data.
39:44So we release a report every year.
39:46One of the many, we release 65 reports.
39:48But one of them is the GDP, the country.
39:51The product that we're creating for this country is wealth, wealth not only for Latinos but for everybody.
39:57And so according to our latest report, Latinos are contributing with $3.6 trillion to the production of this country,
40:04which means that if Latinos were an economy, if Latinos only in the United States were an economy,
40:09they would be the fifth largest economy in the world,
40:13the third fastest-growing of the top ten economies, only after China and India.
40:20And remember, Latinos here are 65 million people.
40:24India is 1.4.
40:26And we're producing more GDP in this country than India as a country.
40:30So that you get a little bit of the dimension of how important this bill is
40:36and all these important changes have to happen because of the, you know,
40:40for the $20-something GDP trillion of the GDP of the United States,
40:45imagine that there weren't almost $4 trillion of that.
40:50So it's indispensable that we actually create a path to a much more practical, I would say,
40:59you know, way for immigrants to come to this country, specifically the latest immigrant wave.
41:05Mexican-Americans are 60% of all Latinos.
41:08Latinos are 20% of the population of this country, and Mexicans are 60% of them.
41:14And they are contributing also with a lot, right?
41:17It's a result of hard work, family values, American values.
41:23And so I actually don't agree with some people that say that, you know,
41:27Latinos have to earn their place on the table.
41:29They actually have already earned it.
41:31And so that's super, super important.
41:34Thank you. Yes, thank you.
41:36Latinos are also the fastest, not only the fastest growing, but the youngest.
41:40The age most populated for Latinos is 12 years old.
41:43The age most populated for non-Latinos is 58 years old.
41:48So you're talking about the workforce that is coming.
41:5078% of all the workforce in this country, according to the Department of Labor,
41:55by the way, that's an official number.
41:57According to the Department of Labor, 78% of all the workforce of this country,
42:01the new workforce of this country, will be coming from the Latino community.
42:04So talking about indispensability, I agree with you.
42:08There's so many more data.
42:09Please go to our website, latinotonercollaborative.org.
42:11We distribute all of our numbers free.
42:14You can download infographics.
42:16You can download the full reports there.
42:18And I want to finish with a call to action because that's extremely important for us.
42:23We are about results.
42:24It is true, I agree with people that have said it, but I'm going to say it again.
42:28President Trump and the Congress today have a historic opportunity to lead with common sense.
42:35As somebody said, President Trump was elected with a promise of creating a better life for all Americans.
42:41This is the way to create a better life for all Americans.
42:45Business owners, consumers, for everybody.
42:48He already balanced security.
42:50That's prosperity for this nation.
42:53But it all starts with unleashing the economic potential of the Latino community
42:58so that they can contribute and continue contributing and growing for the good of this nation.
43:04Thank you so much.
43:05Thank you so much, Ana.
43:07And we saved the best for last representing the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
43:11Please welcome Jaime DiPaolo.
43:14Hi, Rebecca.
43:15Good morning, everyone.
43:17My name is Jaime DiPaolo.
43:18I represent the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
43:20I'm one of the board of directors.
43:22I just want to let you know that we have over 5 million, more than 5 million business owners in the United States
43:29and over 300 chambers of commerce we represent.
43:31And the number one complaint we get, the employers need employees.
43:35So we're asking Trump, Mr. President Trump, to legalize the workforce and secure our borders.
43:40Thank you all very much.
44:05Our speakers are available for one-on-ones.
44:07And that concludes our press conference.
44:10Everyone here, we're going to do a real quick group picture with this banner.
44:12We appreciate it.