AGC Weighs in on Construction Workforce Needs
On June 27, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on a legislative proposal – the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act – to reform the nation’s immigration laws. This bill failed by a vote of 121 to 301 despite being a more moderate version of an immigration reform bill that also failed last week. AGC sent a letter to Congress ahead of the vote advocating for immigration reforms that would help address construction workforce needs.
AGC opposed the original, more restrictive bill because it limited legal immigration and failed to address the construction industry’s workforce shortage. That bill ultimately failed by a vote of 193 to 231 with 41 Republicans joining every Democrat in opposition.
This week’s more moderate proposal, while providing a better pathway to reform, still fell short of addressing many of the industry’s priorities. The bill provided $25 billion for a border wall, a path to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and placed some limits on legal immigration, along with reversing the administration’s zero tolerance policy at the southern border.
The outlook for future reform efforts remain uncertain and AGC will continue to call for any immigration reforms to address the workforce challenges in the construction industry.
For more information, contact Jim Young at [email protected] or (202) 547-0133.