Labor shortages and immigration reform: promises and pitfalls of an independent commission

The Economic Policy Institute will hold a discussion on Thursday, December 9 in Washington, D.C. on “Labor shortages and immigration reform: promises and pitfalls of an independent commission.”  To RSVP, click here. For the agenda, click here.

The general topic is whether to open the U.S. labor market to more foreign workers.   This is an issue raised in the debates about comprehensive immigration reform. This all-day conference will explore EPI’s recommended solution, an independent commission that could study labor markets and make recommendations on how to meet labor market needs, including the criteria that employers would need to meet to be granted access to guest workers. The United Kingdom’s Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has, since 2007, advised the British government on these issues and serves as a case study for the potential promise and pitfalls of such a commission here in the United States.

Ray Marshall (former U.S. Secretary of Labor), Philip Martin (University of California, Davis), and Doris Meissner (former Commissioner, INS; Migration Policy Institute) will be among the presenters.

KJ