WASHINGTON, D.C.-- More than 100 chief human resource officers from HR Policy Association member companies today urged the U.S. House of Representatives to enact legislation to fix the broken immigration system and work with the Senate to ensure a bill is signed by the President this year. The association strongly favors immigration reform, and looks forward to working with the House to ensure the final immigration bill addresses the talent needs of America’s largest employers.
HR Policy Association represents the most senior human resource executives of the largest companies doing business in the United States. Collectively, these companies employ more than 10 million Americans, or nearly nine percent of the U.S. workforce. Their chief human resource officer is responsible for finding, hiring, and developing the talent needed to staff their organizations. From a talent management standpoint, comprehensive immigration reform is long overdue.
The letter, signed by the chief human resource officers of 110 major companies, notes the importance of immigration reform in attracting workers at all skill levels. U.S.-based companies must be able to attract and hang on to the best and brightest from around the world, it argues – particularly those in high-demand STEM fields. At the same time, the letter’s signatories point out that, “[e]ven with the economy still recovering, many of our companies continue to have difficulty finding sufficient American workers to fill certain lesser-skilled positions.”
Motorola Solutions’ Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Communications, Michele A. Carlin, Chair of HR Policy’s Immigration Policy Committee said, “As America’s top hiring officials, we are intimately familiar with the obstacles employers face in attracting the world’s talent. This summer, the Senate took a long overdue step toward aligning our nation’s immigration policies with our workforce needs at all skill levels to ensure U.S. global competitiveness. We are hopeful that the House will make fixing our broken immigration system a top priority.”
The Association’s report, Blueprint for Jobs in the 21st Century, A Vision for a Competitive Human Resource Policy for the American Workforce, noted the importance of immigration reform as a way of attracting top talent to the United States. “Our immigration laws and regulations are badly out of step with 21st century realities and have a debilitating effect on the American economy and its global competitiveness,” it said.
The report contained a number of recommendations aimed at attracting and retaining immigrants with strong science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills. It specified that immigration reform should “address the reality that there is a global war for talent and that countries are competing to attract and retain the human capital essential to a culture of productivity and innovation.” The Senate bill includes strong provisions along the lines of our recommendations and we would encourage the House to adopt a similar approach.
The letter states: “Our global competitors understand that attracting top talent from around the world is vital to a country’s economic success, and many already have rewritten their immigration policies accordingly. We urge Congress not to miss this opportunity to level the playing field for U.S. employers. We can’t afford to wait.”
HR Policy Association represents the most senior human resource executives of the largest companies doing business in the United States. Collectively, these companies employ more than 10 million Americans, or nearly nine percent of the U.S. workforce. Their chief human resource officer is responsible for finding, hiring, and developing the talent needed to staff their organizations. From a talent management standpoint, comprehensive immigration reform is long overdue.
The letter, signed by the chief human resource officers of 110 major companies, notes the importance of immigration reform in attracting workers at all skill levels. U.S.-based companies must be able to attract and hang on to the best and brightest from around the world, it argues – particularly those in high-demand STEM fields. At the same time, the letter’s signatories point out that, “[e]ven with the economy still recovering, many of our companies continue to have difficulty finding sufficient American workers to fill certain lesser-skilled positions.”
Motorola Solutions’ Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Communications, Michele A. Carlin, Chair of HR Policy’s Immigration Policy Committee said, “As America’s top hiring officials, we are intimately familiar with the obstacles employers face in attracting the world’s talent. This summer, the Senate took a long overdue step toward aligning our nation’s immigration policies with our workforce needs at all skill levels to ensure U.S. global competitiveness. We are hopeful that the House will make fixing our broken immigration system a top priority.”
The Association’s report, Blueprint for Jobs in the 21st Century, A Vision for a Competitive Human Resource Policy for the American Workforce, noted the importance of immigration reform as a way of attracting top talent to the United States. “Our immigration laws and regulations are badly out of step with 21st century realities and have a debilitating effect on the American economy and its global competitiveness,” it said.
The report contained a number of recommendations aimed at attracting and retaining immigrants with strong science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills. It specified that immigration reform should “address the reality that there is a global war for talent and that countries are competing to attract and retain the human capital essential to a culture of productivity and innovation.” The Senate bill includes strong provisions along the lines of our recommendations and we would encourage the House to adopt a similar approach.
The letter states: “Our global competitors understand that attracting top talent from around the world is vital to a country’s economic success, and many already have rewritten their immigration policies accordingly. We urge Congress not to miss this opportunity to level the playing field for U.S. employers. We can’t afford to wait.”
