Washington Outlook里面的文章：
Immigration Reform: Why Business Could Get Burned
One new proposal could cost employers $12 billion in compliance
How important is immigration to the business community? Very. On Mar. 16, Bill Gates trekked to Capitol Hill to tell key leaders of both parties that immigration is Microsoft's No. 1 issue in Washington. "If we hope to maintain our economic and ntellectual leadership in the U.S., we must renew this commitment," Gates said in an earlier letter to lawmakers. "Unless there is reform, American competitiveness will suffer as other countries benefit from the international talent that U.S. employers cannot hire or retain."
Both Sides Now
Gates and his fellow CEOs have good reason to be nervous. Politicians in both parties are seizing on public concern about 12 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. to craft legislation limiting cross-border mobility for skilled and unskilled workers alike. And while corporations are accustomed to anti-business potshots from the Left, they are now fighting a defensive battle against angry populist Republicans who want to seal the border and punish companies that employ illegals. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, Representative Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) won a standing ovation for skewering companies that profit from imported labor. "The conservative movement can either be the voice of principle or it can be the voice of the Chamber of Commerce," Tancredo roared. "But it cannot be both."
Facing rhetoric like that, many corporations feel pressured. By opposing the GOP's anti-immigrant faction business runs the risk of ushering in more Democrats in the 2006 elections. But Tancredo and his allies pose a more immediate threat to business' long-term need for a steady stream of foreign workers.
The immigration hardliners want serious penalties to make businesses think twice before hiring immigrants. Legislation approved by the House in late 2005 would make it a felony for businesses to hire illegal workers: Companies that incorrectly fill out certain paperwork on employees could be fined up to $25,000. "It doesn't take too many of those [fines] to drive a small business out of business," says John Gay of the National Restaurant Assn.
參考答案:移民改革: 为什么企业会遭受影响?
一项新的提案可让依从的雇主们损失120亿美元
移民对企业界有多重要？非常重要。3月16日，比尔.盖茨长途跋涉到国会告之两党关键领导人，移民是微软在华盛顿州的头顶大事。“如果我们希望维持我们美国的经济和理性的领导，我们必须改革这项立法”，盖茨在之前写给立法者们的信中这样说道，“要是不改革，美国将会在竞争中处于不利地位，而其他国家则会从美国雇主无法雇用或保留的国际人才中受益。
现况的两面
盖茨和他的首席执行官们有很好的理由感到不安。两党政客正利用公众对生活在美国的1200万非法移民的顾虑，立法限制技术或非技术工人的越境流动。法人们尽管习惯了来自左翼人士反商业的狂轰滥炸，他们现在仍要自卫反击那些愤怒的支持人权的共和党员们，这些人想要封锁边境并惩罚雇佣非法移民的公司。在2月召开的保守党政治行动会议上，汤姆.坦克雷多(科罗拉多州共和党人)说要把受益于进口劳工的公司一网打尽，为此他获得了长时间的站立鼓掌。“保守运动要么为道德标准发言，要么就为商会说话”，坦克雷多高声说道，“它不能模棱两可”。
面对那样的雄辩，许多法人们感到压力重重。通过反对共和党内的反移民派系，企业界冒险在2006年选举中推选了更多的民主党人。但坦克雷多和他的支持者们针对企业长期不断对大量外国工人的需求造成更为直接的威胁。
这些移民强硬派想用严厉的处罚迫使企业再三思考是否雇佣移民。2005年底国会两院通过的立法将企业雇佣非法劳工定为重罪：不当地填写不利于雇员的某种书面文件将受到最高达25000美元的罚款。“不需要罚那么多就能迫使一个小企业倒闭了”，美国餐饮协会的约翰.盖伊说。
