Colorado Business Roundtable (COBRT) hosted on August 3, 2016 an event for the Reason for Reform campaign’s National Day of Action with Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE). COBRT was joined by U.S. Representative Jared Polis and other leaders in industry, government and education.

This day of action calling for immigration reform was led by a coalition of business and community leaders who together held 62 events in all 50 states. Each event featured the release of a new, state-specific research report with the latest data on the economic contributions of immigrants to each state. Click here to view, download or have emailed to you the full report for Colorado.

Some highlights from the report on immigrants’ contributions to Colorado’s economy:

Immigrants as Entrepreneurs. 32,115 immigrants in Colorado are self-employed. Immigrant-owned businesses generated $566.4 M in business income in 2014. 83,794 people in Colorado are employed at firms owned by immigrants. Share of entrepreneurs in Colorado who are immigrants 11%

Spending Power: In 2014, immigrants in Colorado earned $14.1 B. $1.0 B — went to state and local taxes… $2.3 B — went to federal taxes… Leaving them with $10.8 B in remaining spending power.

Undocumented Losses: In 2014, undocumented immigrants in Colorado earned $3.0 B. $114.1 M — went to state and local taxes… $199.6 M — went to federal taxes… Leaving them with $2.7 B in remaining spending power.

The event began with an introduction of these and other findings from the report by COBRT President Jeff Wasden. Wasden discussed the importance of the facts on both the state and national levels. He noted that this is not a partisan issue – Republicans, Democrats, Independents and more can join in the call for immigration reform which will most benefit the economy.

Immigration Policy is one of COBRT’s nine Key Issues as well as Business Roundtable’s. BRT reports that more than 40% of U.S.-based Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children.

Congressman Polis spoke about the influence that the business community has in moving immigration policy issues to resolution, but he also reminded attendees that it must happen through Congress. “This National Day of Action has been a great rallying point, and now we need to see this through to make our country stronger, better, healthier and safer,” Polis stated. He discussed how national security concerns, humanitarianism and economics may all be improved upon through immigration policy reform.

Representatives from local and national groups were able to attend, including the Office of Congresswoman Diana DeGette; the Office of Congressman Ed Perlmutter; Bibles, Badges and Business; City and County of Denver; Colorado Farm Bureau; Consumer Energy Alliance; GlobalMindED; PADT; Quarterly Forum; and U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. The event was held at CAP Logistics’ Denver headquarters.

Later in the day, PNAE and COBRT President Jeff Wasden had a live broadcast on COBRT’s Connect & Collaborate Radio. Stream or download the podcast here at cobrt.com/radio.

Data from each state report is featured in an interactive map, showing the case for immigration reform with statistics and stories in every single congressional district. Users are invited to “Map the Impact of Immigration Across the Nation” here.

Colorado Business Roundtable thanks Congressman Polis and his staff, our meeting hosts CAP Logistics, and all of our attendees for engaging on this significant issue.

PNAE brings together more than 500 Republican, Democratic and Independent mayors and business leaders united in making the economic case for streamlining, modernizing and rationalizing our immigration system. Co-Chairs are Bill Marriott, CEO, Marriott; Bob Iger, CEO, Disney; Jim McNerney, Chair, Boeing; Julian Castro, Former Mayor of San Antonio; Michael Bloomberg, Former Mayor of New York City; Michael Nutter, Former Mayor of Philadelphia; Rupert Murdoch, Chair, News Corp and 21st Century Fox. @renewoureconomy

COBRT is an advocate for proactive, positive legislation that strengthens the economy and allows businesses to grow and thrive in Colorado and the region. Through strategic alliances with great groups of industry leaders, chambers of commerce, educational institutions and governmental bodies, our goal is to improve the business environment, increase effectiveness, and expand the networks of our partners. @ColoradoBRT