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John Cunningham has an electrical contracting business and is chairman of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Boston.

They came for John Cunningham on a sunny evening last week, showing up at his house in Brighton like early dinner guests.

They were federal immigration agents, and they were there to throw John Cunningham out of the country he has called home for 18 years.

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John Cunningham, 38, has an electrical contracting business. He has paid taxes. He has done much to improve the lives of those around him.

But what he does not have is a green card, and so the federal agents brought him to the jail in South Bay and put him in a cell with the rest of the common criminals. Because in Donald Trumps America, thats what John Cunningham is, a common criminal.

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Now this would come as a great surprise to the young people that Cunningham helped as chairman of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Boston. It would come as a shock to the many immigrants, not just the Irish but those from other countries, that Cunningham has helped over the years. It would come as an insult to a very kind priest named Dan Finn, who runs the Irish Pastoral Center in Dorchester and who knows that John Cunningham is a good man.

Chris Lavery, Cunninghams lawyer, told me there is no underlying criminal charge. Cunningham was grabbed for overstaying the 90-day visa he received 18 years ago.

Lavery was trying to determine whether Cunningham missed a court hearing after a customer filed a complaint that Cunningham took and cashed a deposit check for more than $1,000 for electrical work he didnt perform. That would have produced a warrant for his arrest, but not by immigration agents.

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You would think a guy like him, with no criminal convictions, would not be a priority, Lavery said.

But the days of immigrants who kept their noses clean not having to worry about being deported are gone. Under the Trump administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been very active. And ordinary, hard-working, tax-paying immigrants are being targeted the same as hardcore criminals.

In the midst of all this round-em-up-and-throw-em-out talk, a question has to be asked: What is gained by arresting, detaining, and deporting someone like John Cunningham?

Nothing is gained but ruining a good mans life, said Sean Moynihan, head of a Boston consulting firm called The Moynihan Group. John makes this city, this state, this country better. So how is throwing him out helping anyone?

Cunningham is widely known in Bostons Irish ex-pat community. He was a fixture at the Gaelic Athletic Association fields at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton. He was especially proud of getting more kids from all backgrounds playing the traditional Irish games of hurling and Gaelic football.

It is because of Cunninghams prominence in that community that his arrest has sent shivers through it.

If theyll go after John Cunningham, theyll go after anybody, said Ronnie Millar, the executive director of the Irish International Immigrant Center in Boston. John is so well-known and so well-liked. If John Cunningham is not safe, no one is safe.

That is a new reality that is hitting not just the Irish, but other immigrant communities from East Boston to Lawrence, from Worcester to Springfield, and everywhere in between. Being a good person means nothing. Round em up.

Kieran OSullivan, an immigration counselor at the Irish Pastoral Center, said Cunningham was among several Irish people detained this month. Like Millars organization, his has been inundated with frantic, worried calls, especially as word of Cunninghams arrest spread. He spoke with a couple that is making contingency plans for what to do with their children if theyre arrested.

People are nervous about going to work, OSullivan said. What to do if both parents are picked up. This is driving people further underground. Its a very difficult time. We need to move away from viewing immigrants as a threat to this country.

Fat chance that will happen with a new administration being cheered on by a sizable portion of Americans that does indeed view immigrants as a threat to this country.

OSullivan likes to remind people that 60,000 immigrants are serving in the American military. Members of his family from Kerry have been part of immigration waves going back to the 1950s, serving in every major US war since Korea.

Our country would be more secure if people are allowed to come out of the shadows, OSullivan said.

John Cunningham was just out of his teens when he came to Boston from Donegal. Like a lot of young Irish, he quickly found work, a Gaelic football team, and a supportive ex-pat community in and around Boston. He never went back to Ireland, not just because Boston was his new home but because he knew if the immigration authorities realized he had overstayed his 90-day visa, hed be barred from the United States for at least 10 years.

He would have done anything, paid anything to obtain legal status, but he couldnt. The same government that gladly gave him a tax ID number wouldnt give him a way to get legal. Cunningham worked for years lobbying for immigration reform, trying to create a system that would allow millions of immigrants to legalize their status.

Some worry that Cunninghams willingness to speak publicly about the need to reform the immigration system made him an easy target for that same flawed system.

Chris Lavery, his lawyer, visited him in jail, hard by the Expressway. Cunningham is despondent. He has spent half his life here.

Hes in lockdown most of the time. Its unclear how long he will be held before hes deported. He has no right to a hearing because of the visa waiver program under which he entered the country.

What does this accomplish? Chris Lavery asked.

The short answer is it accomplishes nothing. For those who would ask, What part of illegal dont you understand, Id ask, What part of pointless dont you understand?

John Cunningham hails from a small, beautiful place in southwest Donegal called Glencolmcille. It is an Irish-speaking area, and its named after St. Columba, the Irish missionary who brought Christianity to Scotland.

If St. Columba came to this country today and needed more than 90 days to spread the word of God, he wouldnt be called a saint. Hed be called a criminal.

More here:
'If John Cunningham is not safe, no one is safe' - The Boston Globe

Meanwhile, high-skilled U.S. jobs that foreign-born workers could fill persistently go vacant. According to one economic index, the fields that will be most impacted by ongoing shortages are health, skilled trade labor, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Just the shortages in STEM alone should keep tech CEOs up at night. Their companies experience firsthand the challenges in finding qualified workers in this field.

For example, take information security analysts: the sensitive nature of their work prevents these jobs from being outsourced to other countries. And forecasts project mathematical and statistical occupations, such as data scientists, to experience faster demand growth over the near term.

There is sensitivity, of course, around whether immigrants take jobs away from American citizens. Research indicates that immigrants can help create more net jobs by filling positions that remain unfilled. A study from the Niskanen Center, for example, indicates that nearly two jobs overall are created in industries associated with computers and engineering with the entrance of every one immigrant with a high-skilled work visa in those industries.

Tech leaders should take advantage of their time at the White House to suggest a few sensible high-skilled immigration policy solutions to the administration. First, annual per-country caps on permanent, employment-based visas should be removed. Employment-based visas should be based on skills, not nationality.

These visas are currently rationed to a fixed number per country of origin, regardless of the number and skill set/occupational mix of that country's applicants. This means we are limiting our ability to bring in STEM (and other) talent we need, simply because it is concentrated in certain parts of the world, such as India. This doesn't make economic or common sense.

Second, educational attainment should no longer be the dominant criterion to determine employment-based visas. Though important, educational attainment represents just one aspect of the equation for employment qualification. As the twin forces of global competition and technological progress only intensify, actual skill sets matter more than degrees.

Finally, state and locally administered employment-based visas should be created under any immigration reform proposal. Governors and mayors have a considerably more relevant perspective on the needs of their labor markets than the federal government, yet they have no input or control under current immigration law.

Empowering states and localities to influence immigration policy has worked well in Canada; it is a decentralized approach with aspects that merit consideration by the U.S.

All eyes will be on the interpersonal dynamics of "tech week." Participating tech leaders would be wise to refrain from indulging the media with stories of conflict and instead fill the days and available airwaves with substantive discussions around issues impacting our economy. Immigration is not an easy topic, but if the right reforms come into place, it will generate immense prosperity and innovation for the national good.

Commentary by Steve Odland, CEO of the Committee for Economic Development (CED) and former CEO of Office Depot and AutoZone. Read CED's new immigration report here.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion onTwitter.

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How Bezos, Cook can get immigration reform back on Trump's agenda - CNBC

Editors note: Former U.S. Representative Charlie Stenholm teaches a class on agriculture, energy, and food policy at Tarleton State University. The article below includes views and recommendations from that class, which have been respectfully submitted to House and Senate Ag Committees.

Congressman Stenholm explains how the class functions:

Related: Anti-Trump fervor is rising in Mexico

I always begin my classes at the first of the semester by electing them members of Congress. We then approach policy issuessometimes by voting, sometimes by consensus. I try to make it as close to the way Congress should work. At least that's the way it worked when I was first elected.

I give them my opinion on issues, but assure them they will never be graded down because they differ from me, because they may be right. Which usually gets a look of disbelief. But they soon learn that you can believe you are right, but if you can't persuade a majority of your classmates it just does not happen. The work on immigration is a good example.

Overall, I try to share with them my 26 years in Congress and make it applicable to today's ag and energy challenges. I enjoy my classes greatly because I learn something every Monday night. I see some great future leaders/teachers being developed every day at Tarleton State University and many other Universities. FFA and 4H are doing their part, too. But there is so much more to be done for the future to make sure every American knows where and how their food and energy are produced. Our education and political system must adapt to meet the challenges or suffer the consequences.

Compromise is not a four letter word. The one thing we need the most right now in our political system is to eliminate gerrymandering. Every State should copy the Iowa System. I hope the Supreme Court makes the necessary changes. Stop redistricting by party, race, creed, or color. Do as Iowa and draw your lines by communities of interest and have every district in America vote like my classes do. Even though I get out voted sometimes, I can and do accept it until I can change them or join them.

Some 43 million foreign born immigrants currently live in the U.S. (9.5 to 11 million are estimated as undocumented). That must change. In our opinion, rounding them up, locking them up, and deporting all of them is not a feasible or desirable option. For most, their only crime was seeking a better place to live and earn a living.

We agree that they broke a law and should pay the appropriate penalty. But what is appropriate? For some the penalty should be minimal. We are a nation of laws and want to remain so. We believe that employers who have benefited must be co-defendants in determining the appropriate penaltyas well as Congress for not clarifying the law that we want enforced.

An open border is certainly not feasible. America cannot accept ALL who want to come. The Canadian system warrants a careful study to see if it offers workable solutions for the U.S. We are currently admitting a million immigrants a year. For the next several years that number should be lowered to 500,000 (which will include refugees) until a higher number can be justified by Congress.

REFORM TO INCLUDE PATH TO LEGAL STATUS

Reform must include a workable plan to encourage most of the undocumented to come forward voluntarily (with their employer or sponsor) to receive legal documents that will allow them to become legal immigrants. They or their sponsor must pay the appropriate fine or other punishment applicable as determined by Congress. Those who have broken other laws or do not come forward should be deported. Changes proposed by the current Administration on H1B visas are an important step in the right direction. A workable immigration policy for the future must have the buy-in of employers and an absolute enforcement mechanism with buy-in of We the People. Only Congress can provide that.

SECURE BORDERS

Securing our border is a must. A wall is not a viable option; with our budget challenges, spending money we have to borrow, on something that will not work, makes no sense! Good fences make good neighbors. Building a fence your neighbor does not want, with money you do not have, and insisting he pay for it does not work well in the real world. Working with your neighbor always creates a better neighborhood. There is so much to gain in the North American neighborhood.

All citizens, immigrants, students, tourists etc. in the future must have proper identification in their possession at all times to be presented when asked by law enforcement. Technology offers the means, and Congress must provide the way. No sanctuary cities. All cities must be equally diligent in support of our immigration laws, which Congress must clarify.

The amount of time between application for visa and receipt of document must be shortened. Again, technology offers the means and Congress the way. Tracking all immigrants in today's world is a must. Again technology offers the solution.

RURAL COMMUNITIES NEED A SOLUTION

A Solution for Rural Communities can become the impetus for all America.

Speaking specifically for farmers and ranchers and those who work for them, it is apparent something new and innovative is needed. A reliable supply of needed workers is critical for our food production system. We suggest this might be facilitated by utilizing the current Farm Service Agency (FSA) system with the county-elected committee system to maintain community (farmers and workers) buy in, and local control. Those currently working in an agricultural job, presumably, would have their current employer recommend them for a legal visa to stay and become a legal immigrant after paying the recommended penalty (as determined by Congress). Employment opportunities for reliable citizens (definition to be provided by Congress) should take preference over future immigrants. Reliable labor is important for all industries, but it is critical for agriculture. Crops do not wait for anyone, and cows have to be milked at least twice a day.

Regarding wages and salaries, we like the Henry Ford model A and T approach. He wanted the workers making his cars to be able to afford to own one. The same justification for subsidizing any business must be equally applied to the worker. Keeping in mind that the market, (which is now a world market, and that will not change regardless of what some might want), will be the ultimate decider of prices and wages. A simple pure free market has never worked. Nor will mandated wages that ignore competitive pressures.

Even Walmart has begun to recognize that the pursuit of always-the lowest price (wage) has practical economic, human limits, that must be the shared goal of employer and employee in a competitive world market to preserve, protect, and create American jobs.

We believe that in Rural America the County Elected Committee system, working through a modified Farm Service Agency office system could be an implementer of this new system (that would supply both permanent and seasonal workers) that would be welcomed by the producer as well as his employee. There is no reason that we can determine that the Departments of Labor, Homeland Security, State, Commerce, and Agriculture cannot work together to implement this program with minimal cost and maximum efficiency, with USDA leading and setting the example for all other industries and their workers.

We respectfully ask for your consideration of these thoughts and suggestions. We acknowledge that the needed comprehensive immigration reform has many important parts that must all be addressed. But perhaps starting with our food production system (food is rather important to all) a solution for all might be found.

REGULAR ORDER

Using regular order, sub-committee hearings and markup, full committee hearings and markup, House and Senate floor action, a conferenced bill sent to the President for eventual inclusion in the 2018 Farm and Food Bill (food cannot be produced without labor) or Comprehensive Immigration Reform (or preferably both) would demonstrate how our forefathers intended the Congress to function for our mutual benefit.

Compromise is not a four letter word. Our Constitution would never have been ratified were it not for the willingness of strong willed men to compromise. The future of America depends on our current Congressmen, Congresswomen, Senators, and President to do the same.

It is important to remember that it took 116 days to draft the ConstitutionMay 25, 1787 to September 17, 1787. Even after the addition of the Bill of Rights, 36 percent of the people were opposed to its ratification.

A SUMMARY:

SECURING OUR BORDERS IS A MUST

1. Immigrants are essential to our Country

2. They must be legally in America

3. Our laws must be adapted and enforced

4. No wall between neighbors

5. No sanctuary cities

6. Agriculture producers and workers should set example

7. Congressional leadership is REQUIRED. Solution must be non-partisan

8. Comprehensive Immigration Reform should be signed by the President on

September 17, 2017116 days from May 25, 2017

See more here:
Immigration reform must consider labor needs - Southwest Farm Press

If the federal rules and priorities are the same now as they were in the early 2010s, then why have arrests dipped?

Photo illustration by Natalie Matthews-Ramo. Photos by Thinkstock, Lucy Nicholson/Reuters and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Handout via Reuters.

Last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released data showing it had achieved a nearly 40 percent spike in immigration arrests in the first 100 days of the Trump administration. In a press call about the new numbers, ICEs Acting Director Thomas Homan explained that these elevated numbers stemmed from the White Houses decision to reverse a November 2014 Obama policy prioritizing certain criminal aliens and recent border crossers for arrest. These statistics reflect President Trump's commitment to enforce our immigration laws fairly and across the board, Homan said.

The arrest total in Trumps first 100 days41,898represents an increase of more than 10,000 over the same period last year. Its important to note, however, that these numbers dont reach the former administrations immigration arrest levels from prior to November 2014, when ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations agents worked with much the same latitude they have today. During the same 100-day period in 2014, for example, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations made 54,484 arrests, with that number representing a slight decline from the even higher rates of arrest in 2012 and 2013.

If the federal rules and priorities are the same now as they were in the early 2010s, then why have arrests dipped? Narrowing in on the data at a regional ICE field office level provides a possible answer: The growing sanctuary city movement may be affecting ICEs ability to get back to its previous arrest capacity.

Several regions where sanctuary policies are prevalent, including those overseen by ICEs Los Angeles and New York field offices, have not come close to their 2014 arrest levels. By contrast, arrests have exceeded 2014 levels in regions like Dallas and St. Paul, which have large swaths of territory without sanctuary protections. (Note: ICE field office regions extend far beyond the cities they are named after. For example, the St. Paul field office includes Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota.) The maps below show total arrests per field office between Jan. 20 and April 29, 2014 as compared to the same dates in 2017. The larger the bubbles, the more arrests per field office; click on the bubbles to see precise numbers.

Very broadly, sanctuary city policieswhich have been adopted in places like San Francisco (in May 2014), Los Angeles (July 2014), and New York City (November 2014)shield unauthorized immigrants from federal immigration enforcement by ensuring that local authorities do not, for instance, question residents about their immigration status or use local jail systems to funnel arrestees into deportation proceedings. Since 2014, city leaders and sheriffs and police departments in the above citiesand others began honoring far fewer ICE detainer requeststhat is, requests to hold unauthorized immigrants past their release dates to give ICE the opportunity to pick them up from local jails. Between Jan. 20 and April 29, 2014, ICE agents in the Los Angeles field office made 6,209 arrests; during the same period this year, they made 2,273. In that same 2014 time period, ICE agents in San Francisco and New York made 2,870 and 1,458 arrests respectively. They made just 1,976 and 687 arrests respectively between Jan. 20 and April 29, 2017.

Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates for stricter immigration enforcement, argues that we should not expect ICE to immediately reach 2014 arrest rates. It takes time to get back in the groove here, says Mehlman, citing the Trump administrations need to replace Obama-era appointees with new personnel in leadership positions. Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that favors restricting immigration, adds that ICEs dramatic increase in arrests compared to the final two years of the Obama administration is a very good start. Vaughan, however, notes the difficulties that sanctuary cities have caused ICE enforcement agents. In places like California, New York, and Philadelphia ICE was no longer able to arrest criminal aliens while they were in local custody, so they had to go out and find them in the community, she explains via email. Some sanctuary jurisdictions have recently reversed their policies, but it will take some time for the administration to implement new policies to address that problem.

In discussing the new arrest spike last month, Homan acknowledged the logistical difficulties that sanctuary cities pose to ICE agents. To arrest people at-large rather than in the county jail, it takes longer, it takes more resources, it's less efficient, said Homan. He later added, If people get released, now theres several people out in the general public, we may not know where they are. So it is gonna take a team of officers to locate that person and do a lot of investigative research on where we can find them.

This pattern of arrest spikes in non-sanctuary cities is not entirely consistent. Some field offices in non-sanctuary-dense regions such as San Antonio and El Paso, Texas, have not reached 2014 arrest levels. There are also a few regions with major sanctuary jurisdictions that have actually seen an increase in arrests. It is difficult to make definitive assertions about the degree of this trend nationwide, given that ICE field offices cover large swaths of territory and the fact that sanctuary city policies differ nationwide. However, of the nine field office zones that have higher arrest rates in 2017 than 2014, just threeBoston, Philadelphia, and St. Paulappear to have more than a handful of sanctuary jurisdictions, as per the Center for Immigration Studies most recent sanctuary cities map. By contrast, of the nine field office zones with the lowest 2017 arrest numbers compared to 2014, four contain six or more sanctuary jurisdictions and twoNew York City and San Diegohave small field office zones that are well-covered by city and county sanctuary policies, respectively.

John Sandweg, the acting director of ICE from 2013 to 2014, cautions that regional variations in ICE arrest numbers could be due to varying institutional capacities across ICE field offices rather than sanctuary policies. The sample size remains relatively small and could be a byproduct of a wide array of operational issues, says Sandweg via email. While Vaughan echoes these caveats, she points out that the dramatic drop in ICE arrests in California suggests that those jurisdictions widespread refusal to cooperate with ICE, especially on detainer requests, is having a significant effect. Its hard to know for sure without more granular statistics, but I think it is notable that the arrests by the California field offices of ICE in particular have gone down so much and been slower to recover, because that state is the biggest and most populous sanctuary jurisdiction in the country, Vaughan says.

Though ICEs arrests of unauthorized immigrants, with or without criminal histories, have still not matched the records set by the Obama administration, immigrants rights advocates contend the Trump regime has returned to immigration enforcement policies that round up people who do not pose any danger to society. The maps below show arrests of unauthorized immigrants without criminal records per field office between Jan. 20 and April 29, 2014 as compared to the same dates in 2017.

2014 ICE Arrests of Immigrants Without Criminal Records:

2017 ICE Arrests of Immigrants Without Criminal Records:

As can be seen in the maps, several ICE field offices, particularly in the South, have hiked their noncriminal alien arrest numbersin a few cases surpassing 2014 levels. Witold J. Walczak, legal director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, says the large jump in noncriminal arrests, including in the region served by the ICE Philadelphia field office, can be attributed to the agencys new willingness to arrest unauthorized immigrants who are found in the vicinity of planned enforcement actions. They are extremely aggressive now in trying to get into houses, and they question anybody in the area resulting in collateral pick-ups, says Walczak, whose advocacy work is based in southwestern and central Pennsylvania. But weve also seen a good number of raids, either going to worksites, like factories and construction sites, or pulling over work vans. My perception is these are often not targeted operations, just straight up ethnic profiling.

Adrian Smith, a spokesperson for ICEs Philadelphia field office, disputes these claims, saying in an email that ICEs enforcement actions are targeted and lead driven. Asked about his offices large increase in noncriminal unauthorized immigrant arrests, Smith notes that ICE no longer exempts classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in violation of immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention, and if found removable by final order, removal from the United States, says Smith.

Former ICE officials argue that this increase in noncriminal arrests stems from President Trumps reversal of the previous administrations immigration enforcement priorities. ICE has a finite number of resources. During the Obama administration, all of those resources were dedicated to the identification and removal of criminal aliens, says Sandweg. As the new administration directs officers and agents to broaden their focus and places equal priority on noncriminals, resources that were previously dedicated to criminal aliens are expended against people who pose no threat.

Top Comment

If sanctuary cities are "winning", then that's a damn good argument for shutting them down. The government shouldn't be fighting against itself. Either we have open borders or we regulate who gets to stay here. Choose one or the other. More...

ICEs apparent attempts to dial up arrests on unauthorized immigrants regardless of their criminal histories means Americas cities will necessarily be in its crosshairs. According to Pew, 61 percent of the nations estimated 11.1 million unauthorized immigrations live in just 20 major metropolitan areas. The Trump administration has already succeeded in pushing several jurisdictions to reverse sanctuary protections. In February, citing federal funding threats, Floridas MiamiDade County, which includes the city of Miami, reversed a policy limiting cooperation with ICE detainer requests. The same month, the city of Dayton, Ohio, reversed a policy prohibiting police from contacting ICE in cases involving misdemeanor violations and felony-level property crimes.

Whether federal pressure will continue to bring other cities into line with immigration authorities remains to be seen. But without local compliance, ICE will have a significantly tougher time ratcheting its arrest levels up to the levels reached by the Obama administration in the early 2010s.

More here:
Where Trump's Immigration Crackdown Is Failing - Slate Magazine

Yuri Cunza Published 4:07 p.m. CT June 19, 2017 | Updated 11 hours ago

Vice Mayor David Briley and other local lawmakers urged the city Wednesday to adopt two bills that would put into practice some sanctuary city-like policies in Nashville. Ariana Maia Sawyer / USA TODAY NETWORK Tennessee

Yuri Cunza(Photo: Submitted)

Immigration is one of the most urgent problems our country faces today. With a little political will and leadership, it can be solvable.

There are an estimated 11 million undocumented people in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. These people are living and working in the shadows in fear of deportation or prosecution, instead of contributing to and helping to grow our economy.

Meanwhile, nationally and in our state, businesses across industries like agriculture, construction and technology are suffering critical shortages of workers needed to fill open job positions.

We find ourselves here because, for years, elected officials have not taken the necessary steps to pass immigration reform to keep up with a changing world.

The most recent attempt at reform in 2013 received bipartisan support in the Senate, including support from two great statesmen of Tennessee, U.S. Sen. Bob Corker and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, but failed in the House.

Now, the political will to pass immigration reform seems to be changing. In the past several weeks, Republican statesmen like U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina have renewed reform conversations to address the calls from businesses and communities.

The Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce believes leaders on both sides of the political aisle can come together and agree on several key elements to achieve meaningful reform.

Immigration reform must secure our borders. This country was built on upholding the rule of law. Allowing an unchecked flow of undocumented immigrants into this country is irresponsible public policy, economically unsustainable and unfair to the immigrants who came here legally.

We must also accept that mass deportation of undocumented immigrants is not a realistic option. It would be economically, politically and morally disastrous to deport millions of people, many of whom have lived here productively and peacefully for years. Amnesty cannot be the solution, either.

Instead, we should provide a pathway for those who are not criminal threats to our society to come out of the shadows and earn their way to a legal status.

Immigration reform should address critical labor shortages that are hurting many American businesses. Some businesses cannot fill open jobs, be productive and stay competitive without tapping into an immigrant workforce. Immigrant workers, hungry to pursue the American Dream, are willing and available to fill many positions.

Our immigration system should help bridge the gap between labor demand and worker supply. Reforming visa programs to provide adequate temporary, revocable worker permits will help immigrants fill job vacancies and businesses be successful.

Although immigration reform can be a divisive issue, we can all agree that failing to uphold the rule of law, creating communities of second-class citizens and compromising the economic prosperity of our nation is not the American Way.

I've spent half of my life in Nashville since my first visit in 1992. Despite floods, economic downturns, and even worse, episodes of immigrant-phobia, our Hispanic community has been and remains vibrant.

I've been a tourist, a foreign student visa applicant, an unskilled factory worker, a cook, and many times, just your average Jos. By 2004, I was serving as Chairman of the NAHCC, an organization I lead today as CEO, representing small businesses to foster economic development opportunities, integration, and sustainable Hispanic business prosperity.

On Sept. 22, 2006, I became a U.S. Citizen. My unexpected journey has shaped me into becoming a leader and a very proud resident of this city. It is a great honor to help highlight Hispanic contributions as community members, workers and consumers.

There is an opportunity to lead on this issue. I urge Corker and Alexander to help broker bipartisan agreement on immigration reform that will benefit our businesses and our communities.

Yuri Cunza is president and CEO of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and member of The Partnership for a New American Economy.

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It's time to renew a push for immigration reform - The Tennessean