Washington, D.C. — ICYMI: Today, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02), Chair of the New Democrat Coalition, penned an op-ed in the Union Leader urging Republicans and Democrats in Washington to advance commonsense, bipartisan immigration reform and restore order at the border. In the op-ed, Kuster highlighted her new immigration reform and border security framework to move bipartisan policies forward. She also emphasized the critical role that legal immigration plays in addressing New Hampshire’s workforce shortages.  

You can read the full piece HERE or below: 

Immigration Reform Will Benefit Labor-Strapped New Hampshire

By Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02), Chair of the New Democrat Coalition

March 6, 2024

There’s no question that our immigration system is broken. It’s been broken for decades, and the situation at our borders is unacceptable.

For too long, politicians in Washington have thrown up their hands and politicized the issue instead of rolling up their sleeves and doing the hard work of finding long-term, bipartisan solutions. The last time Congress and the White House came together to pass a comprehensive immigration package was 1996. Our country and the world have changed dramatically since and our laws should reflect that.

Real solutions are within reach. We can increase funding and recruitment of Border Patrol agents to restore order. We can improve technology at our ports of entry to strengthen drug interdiction. We can expand the number of immigration judges to address the growing backlog of refugees and give fast, fair, and final answers to asylum seekers. These commonsense steps will have a meaningful impact.

Ours is a nation of immigrants and laws. We owe it to our country and future to build a system that reflects our values, enforces the law, treats immigrants with dignity, and ensures order at our borders.

That’s what I’m working towards as chair of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of nearly 100 pragmatic Democrats committed to ending gridlock to deliver results.

Fixing our broken immigration system will require compromise. That starts with a bipartisan commitment to take the situation seriously and negotiate in good faith. In a closely divided government, cooperation is key — both parties must work together even when neither gets all they want. New Dems are ready to work with Republicans to get this done. As part of our commitment to fixing the border, we are moving policy solutions forward in Congress.

In February, our coalition released a sweeping immigration policy framework outlining 10 core principles to protect our national security, fix the broken asylum system, address labor shortages, grow our economy, and restore order at our borders — all while upholding our nation’s values. Most importantly, each principle can be tackled in a bipartisan manner.

Any immigration reform must recognize that this isn’t just an issue just on the southern border. Immigration impacts all of us — including right here in New Hampshire.

Immigration reform is essential to the future of our state’s economy and workforce. According to the New Hampshire Employment Security Office, the state unemployment rate is about 2.5% — a healthy unemployment rate is between 3% and 5%. Small businesses, which comprise 99% of all state businesses, rely on temporary and foreign workers to operate. Yet, there are now only 28 available workers for every 100 open jobs.

New Hampshire’s population is getting older and families are having fewer children. As more Granite Staters age out of the workforce and fewer enter it, businesses are left without the people they need to operate. By creating a new temporary non-immigrant visa category for year-round work in industries experiencing shortages, as outlined in our immigration framework, we can provide much-needed stability for our communities.

Immigration reform has far-reaching benefits for our tourism industries. When businesses only operating for 12 or 16 weeks a year can’t find the workers they need, they make cuts to stay afloat. But it doesn’t have to be that way. By enacting commonsense, bipartisan changes to our immigration system, we can help small businesses find the workforce they need without disruptions. That’s where our New Democrat Coalition framework comes into play.

Family-owned farms are vital to our regional economy and food supply chains and have relied on seasonal migrant workers to do everything from planting to picking apples for generations. Commonsense reforms to systems like the H-2A visa program can ensure New Hampshire farms have the labor they need to thrive. A win-win for our economy and our communities.

This framework also addresses our health care workforce shortage by creating new pathways for physicians studying in the U.S. to stay here after graduation. This will help bring the brightest minds from around the world to our state and hospitals.

We can make meaningful changes to our immigration system, we just need leaders willing to put in the work to get it done. Our New Democrat Coalition framework offers a first step for this process, giving Congress ground to build upon.

Annie Kuster represents New Hampshire’s 2nd District and is chair of the New Democrat Coalition.

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