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Staying Current By Tom Delaney Image above ©istockphoto.com/Veni Immigration and "Bibles, Badges, and Businesses" S ounds like a strange combination of words, but "Bibles, Badges and Businesses" may be the key words to finally get something done on comprehensive immigration reform, which is very important to the landscape industry. These words represent an important mix and shift in thinking that unites faith-based organizations, law enforcement agencies, and the business community in a new movement. The National Immigration Forum uses these words in a new campaign to target leaders in both parties and to set the stage for the president and lawmakers to feel a different kind of pressure than they have felt in the past to solve this important issue. In a Nov. 8 interview, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (ROhio) said he thinks the immigration issue has been around for far too long. "I think a comprehensive approach is long overdue, and I'm confident that the president, myself, and others can find the common ground to take care of this issue once and for all." A day after making these remarks, he drew fire from restrictionist members of his caucus in the House. He backed off some from his earlier remarks by emphasizing that securing borders and following the existing laws are the necessary first steps. Unfortunately, no one knows how those first steps would be measured. Many in the Republican Party have been saying that the party must learn how to broaden its appeal, particularly with Latino voters. In a poll released in November by ABC News and The Washington Post, 57 percent of the respondents support a "path to citizenship for illegal immigrants." Only 39 percent are opposed. The new poll reflects the exit polling conducted of those voting in the presidential election, approximately two-thirds of whom supported offering legal status to undocumented immigrants. The president thinks that an immigration reform bill will be introduced shortly after his inauguration, saying, "We need to seize the moment" and tackle the issue. He mentioned border security, enforcement measures for businesses that employ undocumented immigrants, and the status of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States as some of the needed parts of a comprehensive immigration reform bill. He also included some things those undocumented immigrants would have to do to earn legal status and eventually be eligible for citizenship. All the players may be lining up and saying the right things to finally get an immigration reform bill done, but it is still a controversial issue about which many openly express their views. The final proof will be in having a reasonable piece of legislation for passage and to be signed into law. Why is this all so important to our industry and PLANET members? Last year, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce completed a report titled "The Economic Impact of the Landscape and Lawn Care Services Industry on U.S. Latinos." It states that 35 percent of the 1.6 million workers in the industry are Latinos. The number of those workers that could be affected by any type of comprehensive immigration reform legislation will have a large impact on many companies within our industry. Those existing workers are especially important since there seems to be a limited number of replacement workers willing to do this type of work. To keep the economic recovery going in the right direction, we all need to be assured of a sufficient workforce and don't need to be competing for the same few workers. If we are to finally fix the broken immigration system, when the time comes for you to express your opinion on immigration to your elected officials, make sure you do so and encourage othLI ers to do the same. Tom Delaney is director of government affairs at the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET). For more information, visit www.landcarenetwork.org. 26 Landscape and Irrigation January 2013 www.landscapeirrigation.com