FWD.us, a national, bipartisan organization founded by Mark Zuckerberg and other tech leaders focused on promoting comprehensive immigration reform, recently launched a new statewide coalition in Arizona to highlight the value of immigrants and immigration to Arizona and to address the urgent need for immigration reform.

“Our technology community is built on the collective efforts of a melting pot of U.S. citizens and immigrants alike,” said Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, which is a member of the new FWD.us Arizona Coalition. “The launch of the FWD.us Arizona Coalition contributes to our state’s nationwide fight for immigration reform. We stand with technology leaders around the country urging our lawmakers to keep the U.S. competitive in a global economy.”

The Arizona Farm Bureau, another member of the FWD.us Arizona Coalition, also believes immigration reform is critical.

“We keep working at it, but there is a reality of Arizona agriculture that seems not to be generally accepted – we rely on an immigrant-based labor force, and except for advances in technology, that is not going to change,” said Joe Sigg, CEO of the Arizona Farm Bureau. “We require a legal and reliable supply of labor from somewhere else. We respect the reality of this public policy issue, but we cannot ignore that fact that labor is not simply a commodity, but our employees and their families. We should use our words to bring about reforms.”

The Arizona coalition, which is made up of local business and community leaders, will communicate the need for comprehensive immigration reform in order to keep the American Dream alive.

• Promoting Smart Border Security. Provide law enforcement the tools necessary to substantially stop future illegal immigration and allow law enforcement to focus on real security threats and priorities.
• Unlocking Immigrants’ Economic Potential. Modernize our legal immigration system so that it works for today’s economy, creating millions of jobs, reducing the deficit, and allowing the U.S. to remain globally competitive.

• Creating a Process to Earn Legal Status. Create a pathway to legalization for those currently living in the United States illegally with long-standing community ties, who pass a criminal background check, pay fines and go through a probationary period. After an extended period of time such as 10 years, those who meet specific requirements such as learning English and paying back taxes, will have the option to apply for citizenship.

Implementing this plan will bring those living here illegally out of the shadows and allow law enforcement to better focus their resources on violent criminals.

For more information, visit www.fwd.us.