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Most of the ideas from Gov. Gretchen Whitmers population growth council report are either bad, ineffective or have little to do with population growth. But give credit where it is due: The council did have some good ideas on labor regulation laws.

The council recommended making it easier for people to come to Michigan and more likely to want to move here. It called for lawmakers to conduct a full review of professional licensing requirements to identify which can be maintained, improved, updated or eliminated. Lawmakers, the report said, should remove unnecessary bureaucratic barriers to workforce entry without sacrificing workplace/consumer safety or the quality of work provided to Michiganders.

Michigans licensing process is arbitrary and often nonsensical. It is hard to justify, say, barbers needing three times the training hours that police officers need. The states 180-plus licenses should be reviewed and, at the very least, the state should immediately recognize the certification and experience of people in other states and let them work in Michigan.

The federal immigration system is also convoluted. Attracting more immigrants to Michigan is a worthy goal. The report calls for Michigan policymakers to work with federal officials to simplify the route by which H-1B visa holders and international students can achieve citizenship and transition to permanent Michigan residency.

The governor and state lawmakers should implement some parts of the population commissions recommendations. Making it easier for people to move and work in our state is the lowest fruit and represents the most obvious reforms.

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited.

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Growing Michigan Together's report highlights licensing and immigration reform - Mackinac Center for Public Policy

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House Republicans talk up "the border," but ignore immigration reform. - Palm Beach Post

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Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and Colorados Democratic Congressional delegation called on Congress Thursday to take urgent action to support Colorado communities struggling under the weight of a growing humanitarian crisis caused by surges of immigrants, many fleeing brutal regimes and crossing the U.S. border illegally.

As of Thursday morning, Denver has welcomed an unprecedented 37,604 immigrants. More than 4,300 are being temporarily fed and sheltered by city taxpayers. The expense has been tremendous: $38 million, and counting.

Denver, like many cities in America, is a vibrant, thriving city full of generous folks who want to see everyone succeed, Johnston said. We are also a city right now that is facing a humanitarian crisis and a fiscal crisis unlike anything weve seen in the last 25 years.

And that is the result of what we know is the ongoing influx of migrant arrivals who are seeking asylum in America and the system that is not adequately helping them to succeed.

Early in the crisis, city leaders decided Denver would pay to house or transport immigrants to the city of their choice.

Despite state and federal grants totaling more than $14 million, Denver taxpayers are shouldering the bulk of the costs.

Earlier this month, Johnston warned that the city had reached a breaking point and if left unabated the cost to taxpayers could reach up to $180 million this year. He instructed department heads to find 10% to 15% in cuts.

Traditionally, immigration has been an issue relegated to gateway cities such as Chicago and New York City or states adjacent to the U.S. border with Mexico.

Not anymore.

Denver is more than 600 miles from El Paso, Texas, the closest U.S. border with Mexico.

Officials have speculated immigrants are drawn to Denver because of its relative proximity to the Mexico border while others believe the appeal is its status as a sanctuary city.

Generally speaking, a sanctuary city is a designation for municipalities and counties that establish policies discouraging local law enforcement from reporting an individuals immigration status to federal authorities.

But its not just Denver.

Carbondale and Aurora have also provided assistance to newly arriving immigrants.

Editor's note: This is a developing story.

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Johnston, Bennet and Hickenlooper urge immigration reform | Colorado In DC - coloradopolitics.com

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Public Safety Committee Hearing Reviews Immigration Reform Bill  iHeart

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Public Safety Committee Hearing Reviews Immigration Reform Bill - iHeart

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WASHINGTON Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and eight other Democratic governors sent a letter to President Joe Biden and congressional leaders Monday, requesting federal aid and urging changes to immigration law as their states take in an overwhelming number of asylum seekers.

The sustained arrival of individuals seeking asylum and requiring shelter and assistance, due to lack of Congressional action on infrastructure and policies, can only be addressed with federal organizational support and funding to meet the public safety and humanitarian needs of our local communities, the letter led by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul read.

The letter was also signed by Govs. Katie Hobbs of Arizona, Gavin Newsom of California, Jared Polis of Colorado, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Wes Moore of Maryland, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Phil Murphy of New Jersey.

New York City has taken in 168,000 migrants in the past 18 months, according to Mayor Eric Adams. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has added to the strain in major Democratic-run cities by placing migrants on buses and planes to such cities, often without warning local officials.

While the Biden Administration has made important progress in managing immigration at the Southwest border, the number of migrants arriving in states and cities seeking emergency shelter continues to increase at record pace, according to the letter. States and cities have spent billions to address inaction by Congress and match these challenges with solutions for our state and local economies.

In a statement, Polis called for more border security as well as other policy reforms and federal funding.

We need Congress to take action to secure our border and pass comprehensive immigration reform. States cant do this alone, Polis said. Without seriously securing the border, providing interior states relief and real reform the challenges facing states and localities will only grow.

A bipartisan trio of Senate negotiators Sens. James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, Kyrsten Sinema, independent of Arizona, and Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut are hammering out the final details of changes to immigration policy as part of negotiations for a global security aid package of more than $100 billion. Some Republican senators had demanded immigration policy changes to be applied to the Southern border as a condition of considering Bidens request for overseas aid.

The governors asked that Congress grant Bidens request to include in a supplemental funding bill $4.4 billion for a federal migration strategy and $1.4 billion in aid to states and local governments dealing with an influx of migrants.

The governors are requesting Congress and the White House include federal coordination and decompression at the southern and northern borders; federal funding for both border and interior states and cities receiving new arrivals; and a serious commitment to modernizing our immigration system in the United States.

Of the $100 billion in supplemental funding, about $14 billion would go toward U.S. border security, and the rest would be for aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Senators have not released bill text on the immigration policy, but the proposals they are considering would mark the most significant change to immigration law in the last 30 years.

Proposals being floated include making changes to asylum law that would set a higher bar for migrants to claim asylum and curbing the White Houses use of its parole authority that it has used to grant temporary protections to migrants from certain countries and others at the U.S. southern border.

With ongoing conflicts around the world, global migration is at a historic high, according to the letter. States and cities cannot indefinitely respond to the subsequent strain on state and local resources without Congressional action.

The letter comes after Biden said in a speech to more than 300 bipartisan mayors at a conference in Washington, D.C., that he is supportive of significant policy changes to asylum law a stark reversal from his administrations earlier position to protect asylum law.

Editors note: This story first appeared on Colorado Newsline, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and Twitter.

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Polis, 8 other Dem governors call on Biden, Congress to act on immigration - RealVail

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