WASHINGTON, D.C.— The American Hotel and Lodging Association, a founding member of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, said it “is encouraged” by President George W. Bush’s “leadership on immigration reform and hopes that Congress is spurred to action on comprehensive reform that addresses the needs of businesses and our economy.” According to AH&LA, many lodging properties “already face difficulties in finding enough workers, particularly seasonal workers, and without significant reforms the problem is only expected to get worse.” AH&LA estimated that by 2010 the industry need an additional 700,000 workers and the U.S. economy as a whole will create 17 million new jobs. Most of these jobs, about 58%, will not require a four-year college degree. The U.S.-born labor force, however, is expected to decrease in the coming decades as Baby Boomers reach retirement age. Furthermore, the pool of U.S.-born workers is increasingly educated, with the number of adults with college degrees nearly tripling in the last 30 years, noted Jerry Terry of AH&LA’s Governmental Affairs department. He added: “President Bushs proposal for immigration reform policy, if taken up and implemented by Congress without significant changes, would, among other things: improve border security by making it more difficult for people to enter and work in the U.S. illegally while enhancing the Department of Homeland Securitys ability to verify the identity and whereabouts of foreign workers in the U.S.; allow U.S. employers to hire immigrant workers only when no American worker is available and willing to take the position; require temporary foreign workers to return to their home countries after their temporary period of work in the U.S. expires; and protect the rights of legal immigrants.”
