Dive Brief:
- More than 100 CHROs yesterday urged Congress and the Trump administration to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In a letter, members of the HR Policy Association told lawmakers of the importance of immigrants to the job market, which has six million unfilled job openings. The association, representing 110 major U.S. companies, says it's committed to working with policy makers to ensure that the future of immigration benefits workers, employers, communities and the economy.
- The letter notes that as employers commit about $637 billion toward training and tools for the U.S. workforce, immigrants and their children, DACA's Dreamers, can help fill job openings. Association members said enacting a statutory authorization of DACA would be a first step in preserving the program.
- Association members also noted in the letter that U.S. companies' competitors know that attracting talent from across the globe is vital to their economies and that those countries may be ready to recruit the immigrant workers the U.S. rejects. CHROs from ADP, American Express, Macy's, Xerox, The Cheesecake Factory, IBM, Target and more signed the letter.
Dive Insight:
The Trump administration announced last month that it intended to wind down the DACA program. Many businesses and lawmakers believe the restrictions on immigrants and phase-out of DACA will be bad for U.S. companies currently struggling to fill job openings.
The Administration claims that employers are hiring immigrants in order to bring in workers that they can pay less than American workers. However, various experts argue that American workers would not take the jobs immigrants would likely accept, especially lower-level jobs in construction, hospitality, food and other industries.
Unfortunately for employers, it may be hard to discern who within the organization may be affected by a full DACA repeal until its too late. In the meantime, employers must comply with the work authorization process and make sure all forms are properly filled out. In fact, the I-9 recently went through a number of changes — a process that could continue, if the fate of another immigration rule isn't decided soon.