Immigration Task Force

Due to the lack of movement at the Federal level on immigration reform, the business community has witnessed elected officials in Florida begin to address the issue in ways that will be of extreme detriment to Florida employers. Such proposals could potentially tarnish Florida’s reputation as a global trade hub, while fears of racial profiling could make it harder for businesses to recruit employees and could harm Florida’s tourism industry.

Currently, the federal E-Verify system is a voluntary program that employers can use to verify the citizenship status of potential new hires. Although the federal government has come a long way in improving the system, it is still prone to errors and will inhibit Florida’s business practices if mandated.

AIF’s Immigration Task Force will continue to advocate for the following:

• Call on Congress to address immigration reform at the Federal level - where it belongs - so that we do not see a patch-work quilt of immigration laws from state to state. Florida’s businesses should not be punished due to lack of action in Washington, DC.

• Oppose any effort to mandate the use of the federal E-Verify system which would have a negative effect for employers, especially on small business owners who don’t have full-fledged human resource departments.

• Encouraging Congress, and not Florida’s lawmakers, to take up a comprehensive immigration reform effort, which would create a temporary guest worker program as a way to deal with the labor needs of our economy.

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