“North Carolina is in a global contest to attract and retain talent. To that end, providing permanent legal status to Dreamers makes sound economic sense.”
RALEIGH, N.C. – A week after Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced a bipartisan framework for a lame-duck session Senate bill that would finally lay down a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s 2 million Dreamers (those brought to the U.S. undocumented as children) and also enact border security measures, a coalition of over 140 North Carolina business, faith and higher education leaders sent a letter (full text below) to Senator Thom Tillis supporting his efforts and urging him to bring a solution across the finish line.
The letter stresses that supporting such legislation is not only the right thing to do for young people who have spent nearly their whole lives in North Carolina; it’s also the smart economic thing to do for the state’s future.
The letter’s prominent North Carolina signatories include: Martin Eakes CEO, Self-Help Center for Responsible Lending; Replacements, Ltd. Founder & CEO Bob Page; Mills Manufacturing Corporation President & CEO John Oswald; Queens University of Charlotte President Daniel Lugo; Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Kit Cramer; ClearPath Founder Jay Faison; Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte President & CEO Gris Bailey; Elon University President Connie Book; Christian Churches of North Carolina President Pastora Maudia Melendez; and Guilford College President Kyle Farmbry.
FULL LETTER TEXT:
Open Letter to Senator Tillis
The Honorable Thom Tillis
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Tillis,
As business leaders, higher education leaders, employers, and North Carolinian voters, we strongly support your efforts with Senator Sinema to find a bipartisan solution for our nation’s two million Dreamers and to ensure an orderly, safe, and secure border (see: The Wall Street Journal, December 1, 2022).
With the recent federal court rulings on the DACA program, Dreamers and those who employ them are bracing ourselves for a new reality. If the program is struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, it will cause untold devastation not only for Dreamers and their families, but also for the North Carolina industries that have come to rely on their hard work. There are about two open jobs for every person out of work. Taking hundreds of thousands out of the labor force will further fuel inflation, exacerbate supply chain challenges, and tip the economy into recession.
North Carolina is in a global contest to attract and retain talent. To that end, providing permanent legal status to Dreamers makes sound economic sense. Our policies must allow us to compete for the workers we need to fuel our economy and retain the young talent that already exists here but lacks the security of permanent legal status.
Dreamers are a critical and integral part of our state’s economy and workforce. In North Carolina alone, there are close to 9,000 Dreamers pursuing higher education. DACA’s success has unleashed the economic potential of almost 32,000 North Carolinians, allowing them to contribute to our economy, start families, buy homes, build businesses, and bring their talents to the industry sectors where they’re most needed.
Over the past year and a half, more than three quarters of DACA recipients in the workforce—343,000—were employed in jobs deemed essential by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Of this, 34,000 were healthcare workers providing patient care. Another 11,000 individuals were working in healthcare settings keeping these facilities functioning.
For more than a decade, DACA participants, their employers and employees, have been vulnerable to government indecision that has sown anxiety, instability, and legal limbo in their lives—and in our state’s workforce.
At a time of widespread labor shortages and rampant inflation, we wholeheartedly support your efforts to find common sense solutions. Improving border security and providing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers is not only morally right; it is also absolutely crucial to addressing labor shortages, reducing food prices, and creating jobs for all North Carolina families.
Sincerely,
Martin Eakes CEO, Self-Help Center for Responsible Lending
Bob Page, Founder & CEO, Replacements, Ltd.
Daniel Lugo, President, Queens University of Charlotte
John Oswald, President/CEO Mills Manufacturing Corporation
Kit Cramer, President & CEO Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
Zach Wallace, Vice President Public Policy, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
Scott Hickman, CEO/President, Riverbend Malt House, Inc.
Lidia Meneses Martinez, Owner, Nuestro Porvenir LLC
Aly Khalifa, Chief Technical Officer at McDonough Innovation
Jay Faison, Founder, ClearPath
Gris Bailey, President/CEO, Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte
Connie Book, President, Elon University
Juvencio Rocha Peralta, Executive Director, AMEXCAN
Pastora Maudia Melendez, President of Christian Churches of North Carolina
Colleen Jelley, Owner, Real Estate Broker
Jon Davis, Co-founder, Circles Community
David Boaz, Attorney, Replacements Ltd.
Deacon Joshua Klickman, Diocese Of Raleigh
Iliana Santillan, Executive Director of El Pueblo
Aviva Tulasi, Small Business Owner, yoga therapist
Luis G. Lobo, Executive Vice President – Retired, TRUIST Financial Corporation
Kyle Farmbry, President, Guilford College
Haihui Huang, CEO, iPearl Inc
Elaine Utin, Executive Director at LatinxEd
Dan Rearick, Executive Director at Code the Dream
Julian Abreu, Presidente, Asociación Dominicana de Carolina del norte
Rodrigo Chavez, CEO & Software Engineer of RevampTech
Abby Yoon, Student, Harvard University
Adam Demchak, Engineering Manager, Riverbend Malt House
Alice Dolbow, College Advisor, LatinxEd
Alison Collins, High Point
Allison Worthy, Chapel Hill
Amanda Boomershine, Professor, UNCW
Amy Mounkes, Software Engineer, RVO Health
Amy Lovett, Investor, Charlotte
Anca Matache, Manager, DTNA
Angela Coleman, Administrator, University of North Carolina System
Angie, Mejia, Special Projects Coordinator, El Futuro
Antonio Alanís, Artist, Durham
Axel Herrera Ramos, Civic Engagement Manager, Poder NC Action
Beckie Moriello, Attorney, Raleigh Immigration Law Firm
Betsy Jenson, Immigration Program Manager, UNCG
Bryanna Garcia, Policy Organizer, El Pueblo
Burnet Tucker, Charlotte
Campbell Tucker, Adjunct Professor, Duke University
Carley Tucker, Grad Student, Duke
Carol Bono, Communications Manager and Lead Storyteller, LatinxEd
Celio Reyes, Software Engineer, Flyclops LLC
Cristo Salazar, Development Coordinator, SEIRN
Crystal Williams-Brown, Software Engineer, Thoughtbot
Daniel Melo, Staff Attorney, NC Justice Center
David Thomas, Chapel Hill
Deena Hayes-Greene, Trainer/organizer, Racial Equity Institute
Diego Terron, Durham
Diego Nunez La Torre, Software engineer, Red Ventures
Douglas Reyes, Fundraiser, LatinxEd
Dylan Trimble, Software Engineer, Red Ventures
Eileen McCorry, Pittsboro
Eliza Mccurdy,Student, Port Chester
Erendira Mendez, Manager, Faithaction International House
Esteban Ortiz, Coaching Specialist, Empower Project
Eva Guzman, Bonner at the Latino Family Center, YWCA Latino Family Center
Fiorella Raino, Manager, Charlotte
Gabriel Reyes, Controls Engineer, International Flavors and Fragrances
Gary Kenton, Educator, NC A&T State University
Ginger Grant, Kenly
Heidi Majors, Nonprofit, YWCA High Point
Ian Cutelabra, Editor, Asheboro
Iriani Lopez, HR, Dupling Winery
Irma Ramos, Raleigh
Itzel Juarez, Nurse, Matthews
Janet Kowal, Librarian, Pittsboro
Jared Hensley, Student, Charlotte
Jazmin Mendoza Sosa, Executive Assistant, El Pueblo
Jennifer LeBeau, Administrator, UNC Health
Jessica Coates Beauchemin, Designer, Cohere Health
Jessica Maldonado, Software Engineer, Epic Games
Jill Blumenthal, Donor Relations Specialist, Foundation For The Carolinas
Joanna Sattin, Psychologist, Chapel Hill
John Sharkey, Software Engineer, Red Ventures
Jordan Castillo Chavez, Engineer, Red Ventures
Jose Sandoval, Banker, AMNB
Joti Sekhon, Chapel Hill
Juan Rosario, Investor, Charlotte
Juana Hernandez, College Access professional, College Foundation Incorporated
Judith Butt, Pittsboro
Julia Julia, Social Worker, Chapel Hill Carborro City Schools
Kathy Greggs, Fayetteville Police Accountability Taskforce, Fayetteville
Kevin Daniels, Retired USAF, Monroe
Khem Irby, Consultant, GCS Board of Education
Kim Wolensky, Charlotte
Laura Godinez Arce, Latino Family Center Director, YWCA High Point
Laurie Fox, Durham
Lee Ziglar, Manager, Amazon Web Services
Librado Mendoza Sosa, Coordinator, SAF
Lonnie Lewis, Greensboro
Lori Khamala, Director, Code the Dream
Magaly Mayorga, Parte del CLAC, El pueblo
Maghan Knight, Manager, Unite Us
Manuel Sotelo, Media Designer & Systems Administrator, Nutkao USA, Inc.
Marcela Torres-Cervantes, Administrator, UNC-Chapel Hill
Maria Lopez Gonzalez, Deputy Director, El Pueblo
Maria Lopez Gonzalez, Deputy Director, La Fuerza NC
Marielena Octavio, Durham
Mary Hart, Durham
Michelle Knight, Nurse, Black Mountain
Millie Myers, Durham
Mirella Cisneros, Manager, LatinxEd
Natalie Smith, Director of Operations, CRG Corporation
Ofelia Romero, Raleigh
Ofelia Hernandez, Voluntario, El Pueblo INC
Olga Romero, Raleigh
Oscar Romero, Software Engineer, Empower Project
Oscar Miranda Tapia, PhD Student, North Carolina State University
Patricia Gordillo, Scientist, Novant Health
Paulina Vasquez, Elizabethtown
Quinny Sanchez Lopez, Manager, Unite Us
Rachael Norris, Social Worker, Durham
Renee Ortiz, Director, The Hunt Institute
Richard Bock MD, Vascular Surgeon, Asheville Vein Center
Robert Cherniak, Pittsboro
Robert Lovett, Scientist, Bank of America
Rodolfo Parra, Analyst, Empower Project
Rosie Molinary, Writer/Speaker, Davidson
Royce Chen, Engineer, RVO Health
Ruth Katherine Hinshaw, Latino community Advocate, UNCG
Sandra Cadwallader, Investigator, State of North Carolina
Sandra Polanco, Accountant, Taxes Plus
Sara Hunter, Developer, Endava
Sarah Phillips, Pittsboro
Shannon O’Shea, Director of Operations, Thread Capital
Shelley Delmestri, Mocksville
Stuart Gershon, Rabbi, Charlotte
Susan Stinson, Retired Professor Emeritus, UNCG
Tamela Schwerin, Developer, Moncure
Terry Loeb, Charlotte
Veronica Aguilar, Director, El Pueblo
Victoria Campos, Intern, Poder NC
Victoria Velazco, Social Worker/Translator, Wilmington
Victoria Nwankudu, Grassroots Organizer, Student Action with Farmworkers
Wendy Kimball Riggins, Therapist, Chapel Hill
Wyatt Stevens, Attorney, Roberts & Stevens, P.A.
Yubi Aranda Sandoval, Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement, UNC Greensboro
Background
DACA’s success has unleashed the economic potential of almost 800,000 people, allowing them to contribute to our economy, start families, buy homes, access healthcare, build businesses, and bring their talents to the industry sectors where they’re most needed. Three quarters of DACA participants in the workforce—343,000 people—are essential workers. Of those, 34,000 provide healthcare services and 11,000 work tirelessly keeping our hospital and clinic facilities up and running. As our nation faces a teacher shortage, 20,000 DACA recipients are working with kids in classrooms across the country. About 100,000 DACA recipients work in the nation’s food supply chain—roles that are more important than they have ever been in the wake of COVID’s disruptions.
But for too long, DACA participants have been vulnerable to government indecision that has kept their lives in legal limbo and filled them with anxiety and uncertainty. And DACA’s strict timeframes omit thousands of individuals who need it. More than 427,000 undocumented students are currently enrolled in postsecondary institutions, and of these, less than half (181,000) are DACA-elligible. Similarly every year, nearly 100,000 undocumented students graduated U.S. high schools, but only one quarter are DACA-eligible.
DACA has been a transformative program for both its recipients and the country, demonstrating why expanding opportunities for immigrants is good for all of America—but it’s not enough. Now is the time to build on the success of DACA and pass bipartisan legislation that provides a path to citizenship to all Dreamers, with or without DACA. The future of our country depends on it.
ABOUT
ABIC Action is the political arm of the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), a bipartisan coalition of over 1,200+ CEOs, business owners, and trade associations across 16 mostly red and purple states. ABIC Action promotes common sense immigration reform that advances economic competitiveness, provides companies with both the high-skilled and low-skilled talent they need, and allows the integration of immigrants into our economy as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs, and citizens.
President’s Alliance for Higher Education and Immigration is an alliance of American college and university leaders dedicated to increasing public understanding of how immigration policies and practices impact our students, campuses and communities.
TheDream.US works to help 6,000 highly motivated DREAMers graduate from college with career-ready degrees. DREAMers are immigrant youth who came to this country at a very young age without documentation.