Massachusetts Companies Seek to Influence Immigration Laws

Big business and special interests are combining forces in Massachusetts to promote open borders and mass immigration. And the consortium could potentially stymie President Trump’s efforts to enact tougher immigration laws and put American workers first.Executives from some of Massachusetts’ top business sectors came together on October 1^st to launch the Massachusetts Business Coalition on Immigration (MBCI), a seemingly pro-business group which actually aims to supplant American workers with immigrants. The group was created by an even more insidious organization that advocates for blanket amnesty and porous borders, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA).The MBCI doesn’t shy away from its true motives, which are  to secure in perpetuity a reliable supply of cheap foreign labor and to shield it from deportation. Specifically, the MBCI is seeking to bolster Massachusetts’ “immigrant workforce – including DACA recipients, Temporary Protected Status holders, refugees, asylees, and H-1B aliens – through the state and federal legislative process” and grant them more legal protections. Similar business coalitions are active in Illinois, Florida, Texas, and Colorado.In a press statement, the MBCI announced that the group hopes to counter what it calls President Trump’s “xenophobic agenda” against immigrants, and to partner with Congress and the state legislature to develop policies that strengthen the “incoming pipeline of [alien workers]” underpinning the Massachusetts economy.This isn’t entirely surprising. Big business, and its gluttonous appetite for cheap foreign labor, has undermined American workers for years and is suppressing  wage growth. According to a survey by Envoy Global, 59% of [U.S. businesses] said they will hire more foreign employees, up from 50% who said so in 2017 and 34% in 2016.The MBCI is no exception to this, and its members will most certainly continue to try and exploit immigrants to improve  their bottom line. It certainly has the necessary alien labor supply  and will have it into the foreseeable future. In fact, Massachusetts has one of the largest alien workforces in the country, where “one in five workers are foreign-born”, or roughly 783,551 residents. It is also home to approximately 236,460 illegal aliens, according to FAIR’s cost study on illegal immigration.MIRA, which helped create the business coalition, is also in support of passing sanctuary laws in Massachusetts. It was especially involved with several grassroots campaigns that advocated for the passage of state sanctuary bills in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Given their partnership, it’s reasonable to assume that the business coalition will work in lock-step with MIRA to push for new state sanctuary laws – and the two groups may have the political support to advance their  immigration agenda.The state legislature is controlled by Democratic supermajorities in both chambers and enjoys veto override powers against Governor Charlie Baker (R). The legislature was almost successful in becoming a sanctuary state after it adopted Amendment 1147 into its FY2019 budget. But, the amendment was subsequently stripped from the budget bill after lawmakers failed to find consensus within their caucuses.It is likely that the legislature will again attempt turn Massachusetts into a sanctuary state. If MIRA and MBCI have their way,  the Bay State will become a magnet for criminal aliens and foreign workers.