Iowa business leaders are sending a message that immigrants are needed in Iowa. The “Iowa Compact on Immigration” was unveiled as part of a national effort to prod Congress to fix the system providing guest worker visas and speed up the citizenship process for undocumented immigrants. Jay Byers of the Greater Des Moines Partnership says nearly every Iowan who can work is employed — and the state needs immigrants to grow.
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Two members of the IOWA Senate have advanced a bill to require Iowa businesses to check a federal database to confirm prospective employees are legal residents or U.S. citizens. Byers and other business leaders are lobbying against that move on the STATE level.
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A group of business leaders was also in Cedar Rapids at the same time — delivering a similar message.