Immigration Reform: Policy Issue
Overview
Immigration is a key driver of apartment demand and an important force in apartment construction and operations.
Rental housing owners, operators and developers must balance their business needs with their immigration-related compliance responsibilities. Congress should enact comprehensive immigration reform to address the current patchwork of state and local requirements that impose additional responsibility on apartment firms for the immigration status of employees and apartment residents beyond federal law.
Industry Position
The National Apartment Association (NAA) supports clear and consistent implementation of immigration laws and regulation as housing providers navigate the patchwork of immigration policies at all levels of government. This includes a temporary visa program that addresses changing workforce needs, an improved employment eligibility verification system and a practical process for earned legalization. Further, NAA opposes any measures that would require housing providers to police immigration laws at rental communities.
As an Owner or Operator, How Does this Affect My Business?
In the absence of congressional action, state and local governments have approved numerous immigration-related measures, creating a burdensome patchwork of compliance obligations for housing providers. Particularly concerning are laws that would hold rental housing providers responsible for the immigration status of residents and impose various additional employment-related mandates beyond federal requirements.
An updated temporary visa program could address changing workforce needs and allow providers to hire the talent necessary to grow the economy while preventing future illegal immigration. Arbitrary visa quotas can exacerbate market-level labor-shortages and rising development costs, challenging the industry’s ability to hire skilled workers and help meet housing needs.
A national employment verification system could help efficiently and reliably check the legal status of direct employees. Current state and federal requirements for employer participation in E-Verify are inconsistent, creating an uneven, unpredictable environment for housing providers. Inconsistent participation requirements limit the system’s overall effectiveness in preventing unauthorized employment.
Contact Information
To learn more about this issue, please contact NAA's Public Policy team.