Gary Williams, founder and past President of Irontree Construction

Construction Industry Under Attack – Urge Your Senator to Stand Up for the Construction Industry in Immigration Debate A bi-partisan group of Senators – Schumer (D-N.Y.), McCain (R-Ariz.), Durbin (D-Ill.), Graham (R-S.C.), Menendez (D-N.J.), Rubio (R-Fla.), Bennet (D-Colo.), and Flake (R-Ariz.) – are working on an important piece of immigration reform – the future temporary worker visa program. These Senators are currently considering excluding the construction industry from any future temporary worker visa program. That would make construction the only industry not eligible to legally bring in temporary workers if they are needed.    Very few details have been agreed upon, but this is the first contentious issue being fought over. The construction industry employs nearly 6 million people; forecasts show the industry adding two million more people to construction payrolls by 2020. The last time major immigration reform was signed into law was 1986, so if this bi-partisan group continues to move forward along these lines, the construction industry may be forced to comply with these rules for decades.   Tell your Senators to object to any effort to exclude construction employers from being able to access legal foreign temporary workers in the future. The scope of the temporary worker visa program should be the same for all industries. Your Senator needs to know that singling out an industry makes no sense. The nation’s immigration policy should be guided by economics and sound rational policy across all industries. It should not be guided by fear and misconceptions. Taking away the tools our industry may need in the future will only hurt the industry's ability to adapt to economic cycles and growth in the future.   Please call or write your Senator now as negotiations are nearing completion. For more information, please contact Jim Young at (202) 547-0133 or youngj@agc.org.