With the aim of intervening in the national debate on undocumented workers and asking the government for a “coherent immigration reform,” entrepreneurs and business people in the states of Colorado, Arizona and Texas are carrying out several different activities to pressure Congress, thereby creating a model that can be replicated by other businesses, including those in New York.

Although New York is still far from developing a common front of entrepreneurs and business owners who advocate for the undocumented – at least not at the pace it is happening in the rest of the country – there is among New York business people the spirit and the will to demand immigrants' legal participation as an important force in the economy of the Big Apple and the nation.

“If we want to maintain a vibrant economy that benefits our employees and our clients, we need a reliable source of workers; in this sense, a reform of the immigration laws is crucial for our sector, and we have always supported this cause,” said Charles Hunt of the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA).

The representative said it is no secret to anyone “that immigrants are responsible workers and have a set of values that make them worthy of a path to legal residency.”

For María Álvarez Castro, of the Manhattan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, it is logical that immigrants should have an open door to legalization because “they are, and always have been, the work force par excellence.”

She added, however, that any legislation must come accompanied “by controls on those who arrive here” to ensure people will work under the law, which, in her view, would put an end to the countless accidents and abuses at hiring centers.

But in a city of 8 million residents where more than 40 percent are of immigrant origin, it is difficult to establish common criteria among the defenders of workers and business advocates.

“In New York City, 40 percent of the restaurant workers are undocumented, and it is obvious that this sector could not operate without them. Nevertheless, the sticking point is not immigration reform, because both we and the businesses support it. The problem is what kind of legalization will they have, will it allow them to unionize? That is where we come up against business resistance,” said Saru Jayaraman of the Roc NY restaurant group.

The matter also has other facets, like those set out by Juan Mijango of the Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce on Long Island. “There are many people in our businesses who do not have papers, and this situation is not sustainable. Since December, commercial activity has fallen by 40 percent because of the fears of raids and deportations. This affects not only Hispanics, but the Anglo Saxons themselves,” indicated Mijango.

Eduardo Giraldo, of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, added that in his county the same situation prevails, where scores of bodegas, discotheques and multi-service stores have had to close because people are afraid.

“We are ready to do anything for an immigration reform that is humanitarian and serves our community, and we have always supported it.”

Three years ago, President George W. Bush presented the nation with the need to push through an immigration reform package, indicating that such a reform should include a plan for temporary workers, though he rejected the idea of legalizing the more than 12 million undocumented immigrants now in the country.