Yesterday, Western Growers’ President and CEO Tom Nassif was one of four business and community leaders featured on a national media call to launch the “Reason for Reform” campaign. The campaign kicked off a National Day of Action designed to urge members of Congress to enact a comprehensive immigration reform package when it convenes next year.
Produced by the Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE), “Reason for Reform” also features the release of 51 reports (50 states and the District of Columbia) demonstrating the economic and social contributions of “new Americans” in each state in addition to making the case for how sensible immigration reform can boost economic growth and create jobs for Americans.
The call garnered wide media attention, prompting several stories in national and trade outlets that discussed the campaign and highlighted Nassif’s comments, including his suggestion for an ‘outside-the-box’ approach that would call on a bi-partisan group of former and current governors to advance a proposal Congress could eventually take up.
Detailing the consequences of Congressional inaction on immigration reform for the agricultural industry, Nassif said, “We’re probably experiencing the most critical labor shortage since I’ve been president of Western Growers. There’s a demand that can’t be met. Wages are going up dramatically, but it’s not adding even one person to the workforce. Farmers are competing with each other.”
Here’s a sampling of resulting media coverage following the call:
Media Coverage
You can also follow campaign activity on Twitter by going to the hashtag: #ReasonforReform
The research for the reports was co-sponsored by:
- Western Growers
- Intel
- American Farm Bureau Federation
- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Essential Worker Immigration Coalition
- Brad Feld
- Microsoft
- Council for Global Immigration, and
- Society for Human Resource Management
For more information, contact Jeff Janas at (949) 885-2318.