Real estate leaders push for immigration reform

New York’s real estate titans, including Boston Properties’ chairman Mort Zuckerman and Vornado Realty Trust’s Steven Roth, sent a letter to top Washington D.C. leaders urging Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

“It is inexcusable to move this issue into the 2014 election year, when politics will again intrude on the country’s best interests,” reads the letter, sent to President Barack Obama, Republican House Speaker John Boehner and others. “We urge you to enact practical and humane immigration reforms now.”

The letter, seen by Crain’s, comes as Boehner stated Thursday that immigration reform was very much alive, but neglected to offer a timeline for a vote on any immigration legislation. It calls for passage of the “Dream Act,” which would which would provide conditional permanent residency to certain undocumented immigrants, and for an easier path to green cards and work visas for foreign nationals.

The signatories of the letter were corralled by Kathryn Wylde, president of the pro-business group Partnership for New York City. “Business and labor stand united in the pursuit of comprehensive immigration reform in this congress. America’s status as a land of opportunity is what is at stake,” she said in a statement to Crain’s. [Crain’s] — Hiten Samtani