North Carolina needs immigrant workers. Joe Biden should embrace them. | Opinion

As the nation faces an intense workforce shortage, President Biden could do more to boost the U.S. economy. With nearly 9 million job openings in the country, there are roughly 6 million unemployed workers. Even if every unemployed person were to find a job, nearly 3 million jobs would remain unfilled. The lack of workers is dire.

There is a simple solution, available today. The Latino and immigrant community in North Carolina is growing and many are underemployed and eager to work. We’re talking about people who have lived here for decades, some with U.S. citizen spouses and children, but who still do not have access to work permits or a path to citizenship.

As leaders of long-standing Latino organizations in North Carolina, we are frustrated that Biden hasn’t done anything to help the long-term immigrants we fight for every day.

Late last year, more than 300 people from North Carolina boarded buses to Washington, D.C. to tell the Biden administration that long-term undocumented workers have more than proven themselves and deserve the dignity of a work permit. Everyone from Dreamers to business owners showed up, because D.C.’s single-minded focus on border policy is leaving N.C. employers, families and communities behind.

This single-minded focus on the border is not helping North Carolina. People who have arrived recently certainly deserve the right to work and take care of their families while their asylum cases advance in court. And so do long-term residents of our state and country.

There’s a moral imperative to act but there’s also an economic imperative we cannot ignore. In North Carolina today, we only have 55 workers for every 100 jobs. The Latino community is one of the fastest-growing populations in North Carolina and immigrants of all backgrounds are a huge part of the solution to our workforce gaps. Instead, our current policy forces immigrants without residency status into the underground economy to face possible deportation, simply for working without documentation.

Immigrants are already 11% of the state’s workforce. And over 64% of immigrants in the state are between the ages of 25 to 54 — their prime working years. To compare, the native-born population of the same age in the state lies at just under 38%.

Mexican immigrants in North Carolina are also twice as likely to start their own businesses, which generates around $1 billion in revenue for the state, adding to its gross domestic product and creating jobs statewide.

North Carolina is a swing state, one Biden is hoping to secure during his second run for president. We are actively engaged in encouraging the Latino community to vote. There are more than enough long-term immigrants to represent the margin of victory or loss.

Between 2016 and 2020, we saw a 25% spike in the Latino vote during the general election. Our communities are demonstrating increased political engagement, with the number of Latino voters jumping to 118% from 2012 to 2020, making the population a key constituency. Immigrants now have more staying power and control. The Latino vote is huge — and could result in more favorable outcomes for long-term immigrant workers. But we must take appropriate action first.

As valued community members, immigrants have been working on the sidelines, wondering if — and when — they may be deported and lose all they’ve built in the U.S. This isn’t right or just. Why does the country accept immigrants’ contributions but deny them the security and dignity they came here for?

The Biden administration must take back control over the immigration debate by firmly embracing our family members, neighbors and friends who’ve lived here for decades and deserve the stability inherent in a legal work permit and protection from deportation. Immigrants are already valued members of North Carolina families and communities. It’s time for the Biden administration and the rest of Washington to catch up.

Iliana Santillan is Executive Director of El Pueblo in Raleigh. Juvencio Rocha-Peralta is Executive Director of Association of Mexicans in North Carolina.