Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has urged lawmakers in the United States to embrace comprehensive immigration reform, arguing that putting an end to special quotas on US visas and offering a pathway to citizenship will boost growth and innovation in the country. The News Corp and 20th Century Fox chairman has also been pressing for immigration reform in his homeland of Australia, believing that freer borders in both countries would boost trade relationships.
On Wednesday the Wall Street Journal website published an opinion piece in which Murdoch admonished those opposed to immigration reform in the United States, saying they were “dead wrong” in their stance. “One of the most immediate ways to revitalize our economy is by passing immigration reform,” he insists.
Murdoch joins other advocates for reform who are afraid that lawmakers will avoid addressing the controversial issue prior to the congressional election in November, especially following the shock defeat of House Republican Eric Cantor last week to a college economics professor who had denounced him for being far too willing to compromise on the issue with the Democrats. President Obama has been pushing reform for some time; however, the bill that passed through the Senate last year has stalled in the House of Representatives, which is controlled by the Republican party.
Murdoch says that undocumented immigrants who have no other criminal record and are already residing in the United States should be provided a pathway to US citizenship, with the H1-B US visa quota removed for highly-skilled foreign workers.