Amid “Great People Shortage” Inaction on Immigration is Simply Not an Option

By Chatrane Birbal, Vice President of Policy and Government Relations for HR Policy Association

It has been more than two decades since Congress has acted on immigration reform. Employment opportunities are a primary gateway for migrants that enter the U.S. Recently, lawmakers have been conflating border control and needed employment-based immigration reforms to access global talent. 

HR Policy Association and 430+ business associations launched a new campaign, the Legal Immigration and Border Enforcement Reforms This Year (LIBERTY) calling on Congress to take action to address  employment-based immigration needs as well as border security.

In a dynamic environment, U.S. employers will face limited access to the global talent pool, putting them at a competitive disadvantage if Congress doesn’t address immigration reform. Employers continue to face an ongoing workforce shortage, which has already cost the country over $1 trillion in lost productivity.  Directly, immigration increases potential economic output by increasing the size of the U.S. economy, and expanding diversity, which helps drive innovation at American companies. A recent study estimates that immigrants are responsible for around 36% of innovation in the United States.  High-skilled immigrants help their American colleagues further develop innovations and increase productivity with the knowledge and fresh perspectives they bring from their home countries. So, consumers, communities, and companies, along with their employees, all benefit from employment-based immigration.

Absent congressional action the United States will remain stuck with an outdated immigration system which is restricting U.S. companies’ access to foreign-born talent and thereby stifling economic growth.  Large employers doing business in the U.S. are strongly committed to revitalizing the American workforce and economy, especially following the world-wide pandemic. With a low national unemployment rate at 3.5% in the U.S. many companies continue to have difficulty finding talent to fill certain positions because there is a skill mismatch in the American labor force. Companies are employing foreign-born workers to help fill workforce gaps—while investing in U.S. talent toward training and equipping the American workforce, largely focusing on vitally important fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  

But companies cannot go this route alone. We need lawmakers to act to align our nation’s immigration policies with the U.S. workforce needs at all skill levels to ensure global competitiveness.  As part of long overdue immigration reform, we need a system that is responsive to labor needs and one that creates an expedited and efficient pipeline for talent. Companies currently employing foreign talent are facing the potential loss of critical individuals due to backlogs and delays in visa renewal processes. A recent report found that it would take the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) nearly eight million hours of work to clear its current backlog. Compounding the issue even further, the USCIS has allotted 85,000 visas for fiscal year 2024 as part of its lottery for H-1Bs. The demand for foreign workers with skills in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering has continued to grow across the economy, far outstripping this annual cap.

Congress after Congress, immigration reform attempts have collapsed — including bipartisan efforts and those with strong presidential backing. In recent years, changes on immigration have been achieved only through funding bills, small provisions in other legislation, regulations and executive authority. Lawmakers need to consider that immigration policy is an important tool for economic growth as well as border security, recognizing security is an important component. Government inaction or action that reduces access to talent undermines the ability of American companies to compete in a highly competitive marketplace when it is needed at a pivotal moment in U.S. history.

Immigration reform is an employment and economic imperative. That’s why HR Policy Association along with others in the employer community are calling on Congress to take action through the launch of the Legal Immigration and Border Enforcement Reforms This Year (LIBERTY) Campaign. For immigration policy to be part of a pro-growth strategy, it should keep the economy a central focus. This Congress has a real opportunity to affect change and bolster America’s economy through employment-based immigration. Failure to act on immigration is no longer an option.

Chatrane Birbal is vice president of policy and government relations for HR Policy Association, representing chief HR officers of over 400 large employers and over 9% of the U.S. private sector workforce.