On June 15, 2022, 14 GOP supporters signed a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urging them to negotiate an amnesty for undocumented individuals. They think this amnesty plan “makes economic sense.”
The contributors, who included Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, billionaire hotelier and Trump supporter Joe Ricketts, hedge fund manager Paul Singer and venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar—together with the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) —wrote in a letter that improving border security and providing a path to citizenship for Dreamers was not only morally correct, but was crucial to solving shortages.
The broader immigration debate in the US has been relatively quiet up to this point, with Republicans largely avoiding passing amnesty bills due to grassroots America First pressure within their party and the American public’s resistance to bringing in low-cost labor after a significant economic upheaval as a result of government policy towards the Wuhan virus pandemic.
This letter was sent on the 10th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, which was created during Barack Obama’s presidency and has been in legal limbo ever since. In July, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments regarding DACA’s legality.
The donors emphasized the Dreamers’ economic benefits in this letter and stated that eliminating DACA would entail “untold devastation” for each sector where these illegal aliens work.
The letter’s signatories noted, “Restricting the labor force by hundreds of thousands will only exacerbate inflation and increase supply chain problems, pushing the economy into recession.” It would also limit the United States’ “international competition to attract and retain talent.”
“We must be able to compete for the people we need to grow our economy and keep the young talent that already resides in this country but lacks security of legal status,” it added.
