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\u2019s efforts to enact tougher immigration laws and put American workers first.<\/p>\n
Executives from some of Massachusetts\u2019 top business sectors came together on October 1st<\/sup> to launch the Massachusetts Business Coalition on Immigration (MBCI),<\/a> 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).<\/p>\n The MBCI doesn\u2019t shy away from its true motives, which are \u00a0to secure in perpetuity a reliable supply of cheap foreign labor and to shield it from deportation. Specifically, the MBCI is seeking to bolster Massachusetts\u2019 \u201cimmigrant workforce \u2013 including DACA recipients, Temporary Protected Status holders, refugees, asylees, and H-1B aliens \u2013 through the state and federal legislative process\u201d and grant them more legal protections. Similar business coalitions are active in Illinois, Florida, Texas, and Colorado.<\/p>\n In a press statement<\/a>, the MBCI announced that the group hopes to counter what it calls President Trump\u2019s \u201cxenophobic agenda\u201d against immigrants, and to partner with Congress and the state legislature to develop policies that strengthen the \u201cincoming pipeline of [alien workers]\u201d underpinning the Massachusetts economy.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t entirely surprising. Big business, and its gluttonous appetite for cheap foreign labor, has undermined American workers for years and is suppressing\u00a0 wage growth. According to a survey<\/u> 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.<\/p>\n The MBCI is no exception to this, and its members will most certainly continue to try and exploit immigrants to improve \u00a0their bottom line. It certainly has the necessary alien labor supply \u00a0and will have it into the foreseeable future. In fact, Massachusetts has one of the largest alien workforces in the country, where \u201cone in five workers are foreign-born<\/a>\u201d, or roughly 783,551 residents<\/a>. It is also home to approximately 236,460 illegal aliens, according to FAIR\u2019s cost study on<\/a> illegal immigration.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> that advocated for the passage of state sanctuary bills in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Given their partnership, it\u2019s reasonable to assume that the business coalition will work in lock-step with MIRA to push for new state sanctuary laws \u2013 and the two groups may have the political support to advance their \u00a0immigration agenda.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> into its FY2019 budget. But, the amendment was subsequently stripped from the budget bill after lawmakers failed to find consensus within their caucuses.<\/p>\n It is likely that the legislature will again attempt turn Massachusetts into a sanctuary state. If MIRA and MBCI have their way, \u00a0the Bay State will become a magnet for criminal aliens and foreign workers.