AN OPEN LETTER FROM TEXAS BUSINESS LEADERS

Please read this letter and add your name to the growing list of business and civic leaders who want common sense immigration solutions that benefit the Texas economy.

Dear Senator Cornyn and Senator Cruz:

​

The Texas Business Immigration Coalition is an organization of business leaders pursuing common-sense solutions for our immigration system, including the expansion of high- and low-skilled visa programs and a pathway to legal status and citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US. We the undersigned represent a variety of industries, including technology, hospitality, construction, and agriculture. 

At this time, the most urgent need is a permanent solution for “Dreamers,” young adults without legal status who were brought to the US as children. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program provides work authorization and protection from deportation to Dreamers who meet certain qualifications. The Supreme Court is expected to reach a decision on the continuation of this program in the spring of 2020. If the Supreme Court rules that the DACA program can be terminated, 115,290 Texas DACA recipients will lose their ability to work and become deportable.

​

Studies by economists across the ideological spectrum have determined that if DACA recipients lose their ability to work legally, the Texas economy could lose $6 billion in GDP annually and the federal government could lose $90 billion in tax revenue. Thus, congressional inaction following a Supreme Court decision would cause significant negative economic and social effects on businesses and hundreds of thousands of deserving young people across the state. 

In addition to existing DACA recipients, there are 226,195 DACA-eligible Dreamers in Texas, earning $3 billion in income and paying $473.3 million in local, state, and federal taxes. Every year, 17,000 Dreamers graduate from Texas high schools; many of these Dreamers were too young to apply for DACA or could not afford the fees to apply before the Trump administration rescinded the program in 2017. Dreamers without DACA will be ineligible for legal employment when they graduate from high school and college. Their education, which our state has invested in, would go to waste. 

We have seen that 64% of Republican and 90% of Democratic voters nationwide support citizenship for Dreamers. We thus urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to earn the support of the American electorate on an issue that has remained unresolved for decades and prevented our nation from realizing its full potential. Texas employers and hundreds of thousands of Dreamers are counting on you to pass existing legislative proposals without further delay.

​

Respectfully,

​

Adam Lampert, CEO, Manchester Care Homes

Al Flores, General Counsel & Senior Vice President, Gringo's Tex-Mex

Alberto Garcia, CEO, Uniformity

Alfredo Duarte, President & CEO, Taxco Produce, Inc.

Beth Bowman, President & CEO, Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce

Brad Todd, Former Principal, The Richards Group

Brenda Haupt, Owner & COO, Globe Products

Bryan Braswell, President, Braswell Custom Homes

Charles C. Foster, Chairman, Foster LLP

Christine Allison, CEO, D Magazine Partners

Chris Wallace, President & CEO, North Texas Commission

Christopher Aslam, CEO, Rock Strategic

Dale Petroskey, President & CEO, Dallas Regional Chamber

Daniel Chu, CEO, Tricolor Auto Group

Daniel Rosandich, Owner, Tree Service by Dan

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, Uber

David Pfaff, CEO, Plastronics

Diana Flores, Board of Trustees Chair, Dallas County Community College District

Diane S. Sanchez, President & CEO, San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Don Cumming, General Manager, Flex-N-Gate Texas LLC

Douglas Mumme, CEO, PDQ Staffing Inc.

Eddie Treviño, Jr., Cameron County Judge & Chairman, Texas Border Coalition

Elba Garcia, Dallas County Commissioner & Owner, Elba Garcia Dental Clinic

Jeff Moseley, President & CEO, Texas Association of Business

Jeffrey Baldwin, President, Baldwin Liaison Consulting, LLC

Jeremy Jacob & Courtney Balderas-Jacob, Owners, FLOAT

Jim Baron, CEO, Mesa Southwest Management

Joe Estelle, General Contractor, GSI Construction

Jonathan Robbins, Founder, Greek Cloud Services LLP

John Stautner, CEO, ETSZONE

Juan Carlos Gonzalez, Immediate Past Chairman, Irving Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Kate Gruy Jaceldo, Owner, Compost Queens

Kelle Marsalis, President & CEO, Plano Chamber of Commerce

Ken Malcolmson, President & CEO, North Dallas Chamber of Commerce

Krystelle Anaya, Owner, Trawood Family Dental

Laura Sanchez, President, El Ranchito and La Calle Doce Restaurants

Marcelo Casillas, Board of Trustees Chair, Alamo Colleges District

María Santi, Director of Minority Outreach, Grand Prairie Chamber of Commerce

Mariano Martinez, CEO, MRI, Inc.

Mary Ann Kellam, President & CEO, Irving Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Massey Villarreal, President & CEO, Precision Task Group Inc.

Melanie Jones, Owner, The Frisco Gift Basket Company

Michael Jacobson, President & CEO,  Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce

Mike Barillet, Owner, Valkyrie Vapor Shop

Nneka S. Achapu, Executive Director & CEO, US Bilateral African Chamber of Commerce

Noe Neaves, Chief Operating Officer, Watermark Power Solutions, Inc.

Norman Adams, Co-Founder, Texans for Sensible Immigration Policy

Pete Lerma, Principal & Founder, Richards/Lerma

Ramon Romero, Owner, A-Fast Tile, Stone & Coping

Randall White, President, Elettore

Richard Spies, CEO, Lucid IQ

Rick Ortiz, President & CEO, Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Ryan Kline, CEO, Motionloft

Stan Marek, Chairman & CEO, MAREK

Suzanne Chen, President, Greater Dallas Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce

ADD YOUR NAME

*The Chicago Community Trust is the bank of the American Business Immigration Coalition, which is based in Illinois. It also serves as TBIC's bank.

​

**You will be connected with FWD.us, which serves as TBIC's grassroots community advocacy partner.