Reid Ribble, CEO of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), issued the following statement with respect to President Trump’s remarks on a new administration immigration proposal Thursday, May 16:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“NRCA welcomes President Trump’s effort to put forward a new plan to reform our badly outdated immigration system,” Ribble said. “We agree the security and economic needs of U.S. citizens should be paramount in immigration policy and that moving toward a merit-based system makes sense given the demands of our economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Although the new plan moves in the right direction and we look forward to seeing more details, the proposal apparently only deals with the high-tech sector of the economy and individuals with advanced degrees. It is imperative our immigration system recognizes the need for legal immigration to address the chronic workforce shortages in the roofing industry, which are reaching crisis proportions and severely limiting economic growth,” Ribble noted. “Our immigration system must recognize the value of critical skills needed to work in industries such as roofing as embodied in the bipartisan Workforce for an Expanding Economy Act (H.R. 1740).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Additionally, we need to provide immediate relief to qualifying individuals working legally in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS); failing to do so will only further destabilize our workforce,” Ribble concluded. “NRCA looks forward to working with the administration and Congress to move forward on a bipartisan basis with immigration reform that fully addresses our security and economic needs.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n