Business Leaders Setting Up Coalition in Massachusetts to Show Immigrants’ Contribution to U.S. Economy

Business leaders in Massachusetts, United States, are coming together to form a new coalition, which will work to advocate easier immigration policies and highlight the role played by foreign workers in strengthening the country’s economy.  

The group, called Massachusetts Business Coalition on Immigration, will be launched Oct.1, the Associated Press reported. It aims to provide business leaders a platform to raise their voice against the strict norms that are targeting immigrants and bringing harm to businesses and economy. The new coalition is being formed at a time when the Trump administration is carrying out a crackdown on immigration through stricter rules.  

The launch event of the coalition will be hosted by HYM Investment Group, a real estate development company. Democrat Senater Edward Markey and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition are going to meet with people who represent some of the state’s top business sectors.  

Immigrants are very important for the economy in various industries, including technology, health care, construction and hospitality, Thomas O’Brien, managing partner of HYM Investment Group, said, according to the report. Washington is running a “xenophobic agenda” against foreign- born professionals and the new coalition is an attempt to counter that force and help Boston remain a global innovation hub, O’Brien added.   

“From high tech to construction, health care to hospitality, immigrants are vital to Massachusetts’ economy,” he was quoted as saying by Boston Business Journal. “The xenophobic agenda coming out of Washington poses a direct threat to our position as a global hub of innovation and productivity. As business leaders, we cannot stand on the sidelines.”  

One in five workers in Massachusetts is born in a foreign country, Eva Millona, the executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said.

Over a dozen companies have contributed $15,000 in total, in addition to the $20,000 in seed money from the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Boston Globe reported. Millona is aiming to get the support of at least 200 corporate members, the report added.

The business coalition in Massachusetts follows other such groups that have been formed in other American states, such as Illinois, Florida, Colorado and Texas. 

The stringent changes being brought about by the Trump administration in America’s immigration policy have worried companies, with many of them saying recently that the increased denial of visas to foreign professionals is hurting businesses.  

In August, 59 CEOs signed a letter that called the Trump administration’s immigration policies a threat to the country’s economic growth. The CEOs, which included big names like Apple Inc’s Tim Cook and Pepsico Inc’s Indira Nooyi, among others, added that inconsistent government action also undermines American competitiveness.