by Leslie Wollack 

A diverse and bipartisan partnership of city and business leaders have joined together in an effort to enact national immigration reform policy and promote economic growth. Co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch, the Partnership for a New American Economy has now reached more than 200 members committed to making the economic case for sensible immigration policy. 

Last summer, Mayor Bloomberg joined forces with Murdoch, CEOs from Boeing, Disney, Marriott and Hewlett Packard, and mayors from Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix and San Antonio to start the Partnership for a New American Economy emphasizing that immigration reform is an economic imperative; that the nation's current immigration policies place a straight jacket on business when the country should be bending over backwards to help businesses grow; and that smarter immigration policies lead directly to more American jobs. 

"I've always said immigration is neither a Republican issue, nor a Democratic issue - it's an economic issue" said Mayor Bloomberg. "New York is a city of immigrants and, in fact, our economy is one of the fastest growing in the country. New York City and American business leaders understand that our future prosperity depends on new policy that will attract and keep the workers we need to compete in the increasingly competitive global economy." 

"American ingenuity is a product of the openness and diversity of this society," said Murdoch. "Immigrants have made America great as the world leader in business, science, higher education and innovation. As an immigrant myself, I believe that this country can and must enact new immigration policies that fulfill our employment needs, provide a careful pathway to legal status for undocumented residents, and end illegal immigration." 

Founded only 10 months ago with a handful of members, the 200-member group now includes companies employing more than 3.5 million American workers and generating more than $3 trillion in revenue, and representing cities with more than 28 million residents all across the country. Last month, coalition members went to Capitol Hill and the White House looking to help jumpstart the legislative efforts to enact immigration reform. 

Despite several attempts in the past few years, Congress has failed to find a legislative consensus on comprehensive immigration reform. In the final days of the last Congress, the Senate failed to gain enough votes on the Dream Act to grant legal status to the children of immigrants who enroll in college or the military. 

The partnership is bringing together local officials and business leaders with an urgent economic message. Immigration is vital to the American economy to promote growth and job creation and to compete internationally. For instance, 25 percent of America's high-tech startups had an immigrant founder from 1995 to 2005, generating more than 400,000 in under a decade and 25 percent of America's international patents were based on the work of immigrants. 

Pushing for immigration reform, Mayor Bloomberg noted in "The Wall Street Journal" last week, "We believe in the need to secure our borders, make it possible to hold businesses accountable for verifying the status of workers, address the reality that 11 million people are here illegally and cannot be deported en masse - and increase lawful opportunities for those who want to come to this country and contribute to our prosperity." 

"Nevertheless, our nation cannot afford to wait for Washington to get its act together and pass comprehensive immigration reform," Bloomberg wrote. "There is too much at stake. Our economy demands that we take immediate action on the most urgent - and politically attainable - reform: making it easier for job creators to come and stay here." 

"Those who focus on where the parties differ on immigration, rather than where they both agree, have paralyzed the debate in Washington for far too long. Despite this deadlock, there is an opportunity for both parties to seize upon the economics of immigration reform and focus on what all Americans agree we need: more jobs. Leaders of both parties talk about creating jobs, but they are ignoring the voices of business leaders who can actually create them - if only Congress would give them the tools." 

For more information on the Partnership for a New American Economy, see http://www.renewoureconomy.org/. To join the group, contact Robert Feldstein (rfeldstein@cityhall.nyc.gov).