Supporting sensible immigration reform

This week we sent the below letter to our representatives in U.S. Congress, urging them to institute sensible immigration reform that strengthens our workforce and meets the needs of our economy.

Dear Members of Congress, 

On behalf of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, we write to express our strong support for sensible immigration reform to meet the needs of today’s economy. America is facing a workforce demographic reality that demands urgent attention, and the Asheville business community urges Congress to act. 

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), U.S. population growth has slowed to an average of just 0.2% per year—less than one-fifth the rate our country sustained from 1975 to 2024. By 2031, annual deaths in the U.S. will exceed annual births for the first time in our nation’s history. The U.S. population will be 4.5 million people smaller by 2035 and 5.4 million smaller by 2055 than previously projected. 

With millions of open jobs across nearly every sector and a shrinking pipeline of workers to fill them, the American economy needs a modernized immigration system that can meet workforce needs and sustain growth. Every year of inaction compounds the problem. 

For these reasons, we urge Congress to pass legislation that will: 

• Sustain border security. We know that without national security, there can be no economic security. 

• Build a visa system that works across sectors. Amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to provide employment-based visas for all critical industries, including those that currently lack adequate legal pathways. Such a program must allow U.S. employers to address persistent workforce shortages while ensuring qualified American workers are not displaced. 

• Create a practical process to retain workers who have been contributing to the U.S. economy. The system should recognize the value of workers whose skills and experience have been essential to American businesses for many years, especially workers who have previously been authorized to work in the United States. 

• Equip employers with modern, reliable tools to verify work eligibility. For example, revamping the current employment eligibility verification system (Form I-9 and E-Verify) to provide real-time and accurate responses to employers. Businesses that make good-faith efforts to follow the law deserve compliance certainty—not penalties. 

America cannot grow its economy with a shrinking workforce. Through sensible, bipartisan immigration reform, we can advance practical solutions that strengthen America’s workforce, bolster our economy, and ensure long-term stability. We urge Congress to act now to deliver the reforms America’s workforce and economy urgently need. 

Thank you for your leadership and commitment to America’s families and economy.