Bill Gates On Immigration Reform: Americans Deserve Better Than This

Bill Gates, Sheldon Adelson, and Warren Buffett are pushing Congress to pass immigration reform in a joint op-ed piece for the New York Times. In the op-ed, the three refer to the current stalemate as depressing and urge Congress to remember its responsibility to the rest of America.

Bill Gates, Adelson and Buffett write:

“Whatever the precise provisions of a law, it’s time for the House to draft and pass a bill that reflects both our country’s humanity and its self-interest. Differences with the Senate should be hammered out by members of a conference committee, committed to a deal.”

Buffett, Gates, and Adelson got into some of the specifics of why the current system is broken and at times “borders on insanity,” such as deportation for professionals with critical skills and problems with the immigrant investor programs. But more often the unlikely trio simply request that Congress take up the call.

Although asking legislators to create and pass laws (legislate) may seem like an unnecessary and obvious request, to many in Congress it might seem like asking too much.

After all, the fight over immigration reform has reached a boiling point.

Eric Cantor’s defeat in the primaries sent a shock wave to conservatives in Congress who now have reason to see any compromise on immigration reform as political suicide. As a result, most have called fledgling immigration bills in Congress as dead in the water.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, thousands of immigrant children have flooded into America and overwhelmed a system that is dire need of repair.

In this environment, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and their unlikely co-author Sheldon Adelson have put in their two cents to let Congress know that Americans deserve better.

Bill Gates and his partners acknowledged that they didn’t necessarily agree on all the details of such a bill, but that nevertheless, they could come to an acceptable agreement.

“You don’t have to agree on everything in order to cooperate on matters about which you are reasonably close to agreement. It’s time that this brand of thinking finds its way to Washington.”

Although the three authors acknowledge them, conservative and liberal views on immigration reform might not be as distant as most people think.

In a study released by Pew Research conservatives that describe themselves as “business conservatives” or “young outsiders” both felt that immigrants coming to the U.S. strengthen the American society through hard work and the talents they bring, much like their liberally-minded fellow citizens.

Only one group opposed an immigration bill that would include a path to citizenship, “steadfast conservatives,” like those that ensured Eric Cantor’s loss in the primaries.

To see the full op-ed piece by Bill Gates, Sheldon Adelson and Warren Buffett, please click here.

(Image Credit: World Economic Forum swiss-image.ch/Andy Mettler)