Immigration reform may be gaining steam with SD congressional delegation: Brad Johnson

After years of inaction, South Dakota’s congressional delegation appears on the verge of taking a leadership role in making the federal immigration system more friendly to employers.

It’s a position that doesn’t sit well with the far-right wing of his party, but Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., is responding to pleas from South Dakota’s employers who struggle with a lack of employees.

On July 7, about 30 business and humanitarian leaders gathered in Nemo to initiate plans for Freedom’s Haven for New American’s Workforce.

The group, led by Lake Area Technical College President Mike Cartney, recognizes that South Dakota’s economy depends on more immigrant and guest workers.

Thune, who participated in the July meeting, had just asked President Joe Biden to increase the number of work visas.

According to a July 7 USA story, Thune “said he's constantly hearing complaints from employers in his state who can't find workers. He said he'd welcome more legal immigration.

“I think there’s H-2Bs, for example, this time of the year. We need lots of them in South Dakota and we can never get enough from the administration," Thune said.

H-2Bs are visas that allow American employers to bring foreign nationals into the country for temporary nonagricultural jobs.

It is not just a South Dakota problem, according to a May 24, Wall Street Journal story.

“The national shortage of workers has left employers struggling to fill open positions – forcing some businesses to reduce hours of operation and others to shutter completely,” it read. “There were over 11.5 million job openings nationwide at the end of March 2022, an all-time high, and 36% more than the same month last year. In much of the country, the problem shows few signs of slowing. In the last month alone, 24 states reported an increase in the number of unfilled jobs.”

South Dakota employers know it as more than 45 of the state’s largest companies are supporting an effort to bring Ukrainian and other refugee/immigrants to the state.

It is not just the current shortage of workers, but the ongoing retirement of baby boomers that has employers worried.

During the next decade, about 30 million of the current 164 million-strong workforce will retire without enough replacements.

Critics of Thune and anyone who suggests more immigrants be welcomed and allowed to work, allege that these workers take jobs the U.S. citizens would fill.

Obviously, that is not the case in South Dakota.

One employer said Wednesday that a $21 an hour part-time job to wash cars in Brookings, a college town, had no applicants.

Minnesota, one of South Dakota’s competitors for workers, has a similar problem.

The state had more than 205,000 job openings earlier this year, especially in health care, food service and industries hit hardest by the pandemic.

"It's really universal. There's not a business that I talk to in the state that is not facing a workforce challenge," said Department of Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Steve Grove, in a Feb. 5 Star Tribune story. "COVID was a big accelerant of a lot of these trend lines. Now the problem we face is: How do we turn this around?"

South Dakota’s answer is to recruit Ukrainian refugees and other immigrants. Ukrainian refugees are being targeted because the war has no apparent end, and more than 3 million people already have fled to other countries.

Ukraine’s agricultural and industrial industries and climate are similar to South Dakota. Plus, President Joe Biden has opened the doors to 100,000 refugees. But the requirements are complex, making it challenging to actually get refugees to relocate.

That will take congressional action to modify, and Thune, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., plan to meet with business leaders sometime in September to map out a strategy.

Part of that strategy will be insulating the three men from the inevitable attacks coming from those who fear immigrants and go to great lengths to demonize anyone who supports making immigration easier.

They all seem to forget we are a nation of immigrants.

Brad Johnson is a Watertown businessman and journalist who is active in state and local affairs.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Immigration reform could help South Dakota businesses