This afternoon, the President met in the Roosevelt Room at the White House with CEOs, business owners and entrepreneurs to discuss the economic benefits of fixing our broken immigration system. The President and business representatives discussed their shared belief that achieving immigration reform holds meaningful economic promise for the United States, creating a fair playing field for employers and workers alike.
At the meeting, the President said that immigration reform would be a boost to our economic recovery. Just last week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released its score of the Senate’s bipartisan immigration legislation, providing further evidence that commonsense immigration reform would promote economic growth and reduce the deficit.
The President noted that business representatives participating in today’s meeting know first-hand that the broken immigration system is bad for business, for workers and our economy. He also noted that some of the business owners at the table were immigrants, and like the generations of immigrants that came before them, these business leaders came to this country to build a better life and are now helping us build a stronger economy by creating American jobs.
The President reiterated his support for the continued bipartisan efforts in Congress and made clear he will continue to urge Congressional leaders to take action in order to grow the economy, strengthen the middle class, improve our fiscal outlook and create new opportunity for Americans everywhere.
Participants in the meeting included:
- Steve Case, Chairman and CEO, Revolution LLc
- Jason Berry, Owner, Blueberry Farms of Georgia and Berry Farms
- Farooq Kathwari, Chairman, President and CEO of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.
- Bricia Lopez, Co-Owner of the Guelaguetza Restaurante
- Karen Lozano, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, FibeRio Technology
- Sunil Puri, Founder, First Rockford Group
- Dilawar Syed, CEO Yonja Media Group
- Alex Torrenegra, Founder, VoiceBunny and WeHostels
- Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO, Founder and President, Chobani