Senator Graham Press Relases
Contact: Wes Hickman (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417
Date: 06/26/2007
Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Supports Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today released a June 19 letter from the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce expressing support for comprehensive immigration reform.
“The current system is clearly broken and we believe the status quo is unacceptable,” wrote Brad Dean, President and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. “Municipalities and counties throughout South Carolina, as well as our state government, are reacting to a lack of action at the federal level with a patchwork of immigration laws and enforcement.
“We fear that local mandates and piecemeal approaches will be unnecessarily costly and expose law-abiding employers to unfair liability,” said Dean. “This would ultimately undermine our economic strength and negatively impact our station and our nation.”
The Chamber encouraged Senator Graham to continue working on immigration reform to ensure the final legislation contains stronger border security, a way to recruit future workers through the H2B visa program, a workable employment verification system that will be usable by small businesses, and a measure to ensure current undocumented, law-abiding workers whose skills and employability are necessary to be eligible for legal status.
“The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber and its members realize that many difficult issues remain; however it is critical that the process moves forward,” concluded Dean. “We support your efforts and urge you to continue to work with the business community as legislation proceeds through the amendment process.”
“I appreciate the Myrtle Beach Chamber for taking a stand on this important issue for the future of our state and nation,” said Graham. “I understand no two people or organizations will agree on every provision in a major piece of legislation such as this. We cannot hope and wait for the perfect solution to suddenly come forward because with the passage of time this problem only gets worse, not better.
“Much is at stake for the Senate and the nation as we resume debate on immigration reform,” continued Graham. “We have a chance to prove that we still have the ability to solve hard problems or we can choose to reinforce growing skepticism about our government and fall further in the eyes of the American people.”
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