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Viewpoint: U.S. immigration system is broken

Julio
Fuentes

8:35 a.m. CDT July 3,

2016

As the 2016 presidential election nears, all eyes will

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be on Florida with its 29 electoral votes.

Floridians are a unique melting pot with a diverse
population and a wide-range of political beliefs.
Without a doubt, one key topic this cycle will be the
need for comprehensive immigration reform and to
address the 11.5 million undocumented living in the

United States. With great opportunity brings great

responsibility. This election cycle, Floridians will need
to take this topic in particular seriously and make
(Photo: Special to the News
Journal)

sure that each candidate puts forward a reasonable

plan to fix our broken immigration system.
Poll after poll, we continue to see that there is a

strong bipartisan consensus for immigration reform. FWD.us, a nonprofit advocacy

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organization, found that in a poll surveying Hispanic voters by 10 GOP polling firms that
Hispanics believe the current immigration system is broken and strongly in need of
reform. Moreover, 69 percent of Hispanics believe that our economy will be improved by
immigration reform.

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We have already seen the benefits here in Florida in 2010, new immigrant business
owners created $13.3 million in net business income. By creating a pathway to
legalization for the undocumented, our state would experience huge economic growth.

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For example, in just over 10 years, it would create a $55.3 billion cumulative increase

July 25, 2016, 9:28 a.m.

in Gross State Product and $37.8 billion cumulative increase in the earnings of all
Floridians. Even more, $3 billion in state and local taxes would be paid by legalized

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immigrants, putting more money in everyones pockets. Its a clear win-win for all
parties involved.

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On the other hand, if our country pursued a path of mass deportation, our Gross

July 25, 2016, 9:04 a.m.

Domestic Product could shrink by 6 percent and cost $400 billion to $600 billion in
government spending.
But it isnt all about the money and economic benefits, although those are many. We
cannot forget about the human impact. We are a nation of immigrants and always will
be. In fact, June is known as Immigrant Heritage Month to remind us about the vast

Plenty of reasons to vote

this year
July 25, 2016, 9:13 a.m.

diversity that built and unites this country.

However, our current immigration system isnt fostering talent and innovation. We can
start by letting the best and the brightest who study in American colleges stay in the
country and create jobs here rather than in foreign countries. Florida is short of
workers, but for every 100 foreign-born STEM graduates, 262 jobs are created for
Americans. These policies lead to long-term advancements in addition to the short-term
benefits.
Secondly, we can call on Congress to modernize and expand our H-1B visa system. By
prioritizing job creation and punishing bad actors who take advantage of the system, we
can unlock immigrants economic potential. Expanding the high-skilled visa program
would create an estimated 18,100 new jobs in Florida by 2020, add around $9 billion to
Gross State Product, and increase personal income by more than $8.7 million by 2045.
It seems like an economic no-brainer to me.
It is my job to look for opportunities to spur the economic advancement of Floridas
Hispanic business community. It is clear that reforming our immigration system would
do just that not only in Florida, but across the country. In 2013, our country was close to
passing immigration reform, but our national leaders werent able to find consensus.
Lets not let that happen again. Now is the time to ask your senators and
representatives what it will take for them to support comprehensive immigration reform
next year. Floridians can lead the way in demanding change. The moral and economic
benefits are far too great.
Julio Fuentes is president & CEO of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
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