Why Business is Running Scared
The fractious politics of immigration have put industry groups on the defensive
To some observers, business's troubles are a matter of political will. "They haven't tried" to fight back the amnesty charges, says one observer of immigration debates. Unlike their opponents, who focus exclusively on immigration, business groups see immigration as one among many issues—such as healthcare, trade, and taxes—they need to confront simultaneously. What's more, business, accustomed to having cozy ties with all wings of the Republican Party, is now faced with a wedge in its traditional base. "The free-market Republicans are almost at war with the law-and-order Republicans," says Hellmann. Adds Craig Regelbrugge of the American Nursery and Landscape Association: "Half of your best friends are suddenly your enemies."
Hesitance. A few prominent CEOs, including J. W. "Bill" Marriott Jr. and Bill Gates, have staked their ground, called for reform, and stood up to the "amnesty" rhetoric. But business is not exactly on an airwave offensive. "I don't sense that the business community's approach," says Bernadette Budde of the Business Industry Political Action Committee, "is if there is one screaming voice out there, we need to have another to counter that."
For lobbyists trying to press their case to uncertain politicians, though, it's sometimes just plain difficult to get businesses to sign letters and go public. "This has been a very hard issue for business to come out on," says John Gay, a lobbyist at the National Restaurant Association and cochair of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition. "People are worried about attracting enforcement attention to themselves."
One upshot of that unease: The business lobby's pockets haven't been very deep on immigration. Last year, when some top Republican strategists tried to mount a public campaign to promote Bush's immigration policy, their fundraising goal was $3 million. That's pennies, if you consider that in Missouri last year, supporters of embryonic stem cell research spent more than $30 million statewide. But still, the effort fell short. Gay says that in the past couple of years, the essential worker coalition has probably spent less than $1 million. And it's unlikely business is about to launch a massive campaign. "We're not about to drop a $10 million ad buy," he says.
Lawmakers headed home for the Memorial Day recess can be sure they'll hear an earful about immigration—they'll get "creamed on this issue," in the words of one Republican Senate aide. Anti-immigration groups are scoping out schedules and asking politicians where and when they'll hold town hall meetings. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham's experience may be instructive. He's been a big booster of the immigration deal, but when he returned home recently for the state GOP convention he was booed. Unless there's more cheering for immigration reform in the coming weeks, its chances may be dimming.
With Kenneth T. Walsh and Paul Bedard
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