A number of print outlets ran great pieces this weekend on the need for immigration reform, from the New York Times to USA Today to the Washington Post. One of them was the New Hampshire Union Leader, which ran an op-ed from five former chairmen of the state Republican Party entitled “Why Republicans Should Support Immigration Reform.”
New Hampshire, of course, is important to political observers and presidential contenders for its first-in-the-nation primary held every four years. Its junior senator, Republican Kelly Ayotte, just came out in favor of the Gang of 8 Senate bill yesterday. And now former leaders of the state Republican Party are pushing their party to recognize something it must do: pass immigration reform.
“Many of our fellow Republicans aren’t sure what to think of the Gang of Eight immigration reform bill being debated in the U.S. Senate,” began the oped, penned by Steve Duprey, John Stabile, Wayne Semprini, Fergus Cullen, and Wayne MacDonald. “As former chairs of the New Hampshire Republican Party, we support the modernization effort led by conservative leaders, including U.S. Sens. John McCain and Marco Rubio, and think the plan deserves backing from other Republicans, too.”
The five went into detail about how immigration reform will make the country safer and how immigration grows the economy:
We know Americans want improved border security, and this bill includes that. But the most effective way to curb illegal immigration is to make it easier for people to immigrate legally. Give people a choice between a legal path and an illegal path, and they will choose the legal one. Visa reform and a guest worker program will channel legal immigrants, letting us know who and where they are, while freeing security efforts to focus on violent criminals, drug traffickers, potential terrorists and visitors who overstay their visas.
We’ve heard some say that immigrants take jobs away from Americans. We suppose one could argue that David Ortiz, who is from the Dominican Republic, does take a job away from an American who would gladly DH for the Red Sox. When professional sports teams search the world for the best players, get them visas, and put their skills to work in America, we consider that the free market at work. The same principle should apply for the world’s best engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs.
If you believe immigrants take jobs away from others, then you’d also have to believe that women took jobs away from other Americans when they joined the workforce in large numbers. Of course, that’s not what happened. The addition of tens of millions of women to our workforce grew our economy and raised the standard of living for all Americans.
Immigrants have the same effect on our economy. They are consumers, giving our businesses more customers and making your home more valuable. They are disproportionately entrepreneurs who start companies. An example is India native Marian Noronha, recently named New Hampshire Entrepreneur of the Year by the state High Tech Council for his work growing Barrington’s Turbocam into one of the Seacoast’s biggest employers.
And then there are the political reasons why the GOP must pass reform—namely, that they’re in danger of becoming an irrelevant party if they remain unable to attract Latino and minority voters:
Mitt Romney lost Hispanic voters by 3:1 last fall, and Hispanics are a rapidly growing demographic. That’s true in New Hampshire, too. If our party can’t earn support from Hispanics and other non-white voters, not only will Republicans not win future elections, we won’t deserve too, either…
Ronald Reagan noticed that kids growing up in Dixon, Ill., or Danville, N.H., don’t dream of a better life overseas. He understood that immigration is proof of American exceptionalism, that which makes America different from and better than so many other countries.
Supporting immigration reform is good policy. For Republicans, it’s also good politics.
Read the full piece at the New Hampshire Union Leader here.
