90+ TX Business Leaders Urge Senators to Pass Legislation to Legalize Dreamers, TPS Holders, and Address Broader Immigration Reforms

NEW YORK, NY – Wednesday, less than a week since the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Dream & Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, New American Economy (NAE) hosted a virtual fly-in to urge key Senators to pass immigration reform. Texans for Economic Growth, a coalition of more than 105 Texas business leaders and associations met with Senator Cornyn as part of a national fly-in bringing leaders from Texas, Ohio, Colorado, Maine, South Dakota, Utah, Florida, Nebraska, South Carolina, North Carolina, Iowa, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Idaho, and Pennsylvania to talk about the need for immigration reform as both a moral and economic imperative. See how immigration impacts the Texas economy here.

NAE’s virtual fly-in brings together hundreds of leaders across the country who understand that the moment for immigration reform is here, and the only path to success is a bipartisan one. Participants include the Austin Chamber of Commerce, Borderplex Alliance, Dallas Regional Chamber, El Paso Chamber of Commerce, Greater Houston Partnership, Hunt Companies, Inc., IBC Bank, IBM, Marek Family of Companies, North Texas Commission, San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, Texas Association of Business, Texas Business Leadership Council, Texas Opportunity Coalition, and Texas Restaurant Association, ETSZONE, among many others listed at the bottom of this release.

NAE’s research shows that:

• There are approximately 204,453 DACA-eligible immigrants in Texas. They hold $3.2B in spending power and pay $963.4M in taxes each year.

• More than 500,000 DACA-eligible individuals across the country are essential workers, with 62,000 working in healthcare alone (nurses, home health aides, etc.)

• 12,800 DACA recipients work in the farming and agriculture industry—with the vast majority as agricultural laborers.

• There are approximately 66,261 TPS holders in Texas.

• Over 130,000 TPS holders are essential workers who have been vital in the pandemic, in healthcare, construction, education, and across the food supply chain.

• An estimated 11,600 health care workers today are TPS holders.

• Farmworkers are especially at risk of falling ill from COVID-19 as they often work in challenging conditions with no room to self-isolate at home.

• Despite being essential to the U.S. food supply chain, undocumented farmworkers do not qualify for assistance in the COVID-19 aid packages and can’t seek UI.

You can learn more about immigrant contributions to fighting COVID-19 here.

The full list of meeting participants is below:

1. Abilene Chamber of Commerce
2. Abilitie
3. Allen Fairview Chamber of Commerce
4. Amegy Bank
5. Angleton Chamber
6. Apple
7. Austin Chamber of Commerce
8. Austin Technology Council
9. Baytown Chamber of Commerce
10. Benzer Capital
11. Borderplex Alliance
12. Brace Industrial Group
13. Brazoria County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
14. Bulverde Spring Branch Chamber of Commerce
15. Caliche Management, L.L.C.
16. Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
17. Cotulla Lasalle County Chamber of Commerce
18. Cuero Chamber of Commerce
19. Dallas Regional Chamber
20. Dekker/Perich/Sabatini
21. Dell Technologies
22. Denton Economic Development Partnership
23. Dripping Springs Chamber of Commerce
24. Eagle Lake Chamber of Commerce
25. East Parker County Chamber of Commerce
26. El Paso Chamber of Commerce
27. El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
28. Elgin Chamber of Commerce
29. ESL International, LLC
30. ETSZONE
31. Fidelity Investments
32. Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce
33. Foster LLP
34. Gonzales Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture
35. Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce
36. Greater Houston Partnership
37. Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce
38. Greater Magnolia Parkway Chamber
39. Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce
40. Harris Health System
41. HMS
42. Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
43. HP Inc.
44. Hunt Companies, Inc.
45. Hurst Euless Bedford (HEB) Chamber of Commerce
46. IBC Bank
47. IBM Corp
48. Intermex
49. LMC, Inc.
50. Legacy Community Health
51. Longview Chamber of Commerce
52. Lubbock Chamber of Commerce
53. Magnolia Chamber of Commerce
54. Marek Family of Companies
55. McAllen Chamber of Commerce
56. Metrocrest Chamber Of Commerce
57. Monty & Ramírez
58. MountainStar Sports Group/El Paso Chihuahuas/El Paso Locomotive 59. Nation Waste Inc
60. National Association of Evangelicals
61. National Immigration Forum
62. North Texas Commission
63. Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce
64. PART Consulting
65. Partnership Lake Houston
66. Pizza Properties Inc.
67. Proficiency Testing Service
68. Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
69. Rockport-Fulton Area Chamber of Commerce
70. San Antonio Chamber of Commerce
71. San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce
72. 7Tablets
73. Sonny Brown Associates
74. Tech Titans
75. Texas Association of Business
76. Texas Association of Dairymen
77. Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC) 78. Texas Business Immigration Coalition
79. Texas Business Leadership Council
80. Texas Farm Bureau
81. Texas Instruments
82. Texas Opportunity Coalition
83. Texas Restaurant Association
84. The Home Depot Technology
85. The Raben Group
86. Tricolor Holdings
87. Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce
88. Tyler Economic Development Council
89. U.S. Chamber of Commerce
90. United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce
91. United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce
92. Uvalde Area Chamber of Commerce
93. Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce

About New American Economy
New American Economy (NAE) is a bipartisan research and advocacy organization founded to educate, empower and support policymakers, influencers, and citizens across the country that see the economic and social benefits of a smart approach to immigration reform. NAE has created a coalition of civic, business, and cultural leaders who span the political spectrum and represent all 50 states. NAE makes the case for smart immigration reform in four ways: 1) we use powerful research to demonstrate how immigration impacts our economy, 2) we organize champions at the grassroots and influencer levels to build support for immigration, 3) we partner with state and local leaders to advocate for policies that recognize the value immigrants add locally, and 4) we show immigrant contributions to American culture through film, food, art, sports, comedy, and more.