What are Charles Koch and Brian Hooks’ positions on immigration in the U.S.?

Charles:
One of our core beliefs is that every person has something to contribute. That means every person — regardless of whether you’re born in America, China, India, Mexico, or anywhere else.

Throughout our country’s history, immigrants have brought new perspectives, new ideas, new innovations, and new ways of doing things. Without their contributions — both to our economy and our culture — we wouldn’t have the kind of progress and prosperity that have made America the most successful country in history.

The fact is, America’s future depends on immigrants as much as immigrants’ futures depend on America. So our country ought to welcome any person who comes here to contribute, as the vast majority of immigrants have and still do today, and it should exclude those who would do harm. It’s critical that we reform our system based on these principles.

We’ve always been a welcoming country as well as a relatively safe country — and we can continue to be both.

Brian:
Based on the headlines, you’d think Americans are hopelessly divided on immigration. One extreme says we need to dramatically reduce legal immigration. The other says we need to abolish law enforcement at the borders. 

Either of those extremes would be a disaster. But despite all of the attention the extremes receive, they only represent a small portion of Americans. 

In reality, the vast majority of people share common ground on immigration. For example, 75 percent of Americans agree immigration is good — a record high. More than 80 percent support permanent legal status for Dreamers — people who were brought to the U.S. as children and have followed our laws and met some really tough standards to qualify for the program. 

That’s not to say fixing our immigration system is simple. And this is about much more than just policy change. That’s why we’re inviting so many people to get engaged. If this is an issue you’re passionate about, I hope you’ll check out one of our newest initiatives: Common Ground: Immigration. There are many ways for you to be involved.

Learn more about Stand Together’s immigration reform efforts.