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Conservative Economists: “[Reforming immigration] is an opportunity to improve the long-term prospects for economic growth, enhance the skills of the U.S. labor force, and augment the flexibility of the nation’s labor market. Immigration reform’s positive impact on population growth, labor force growth, housing, and other markets will lead to more rapid economic growth. This, in turn, translates into a positive impact on the federal budget.” (American Action Forum 111 Conservative Economists, Open Letter to Speaker John Boehner, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 5/23/13)

Americans for Tax Reform’s Grover Norquist: “America is the richest and most immigrant-friendly country in the world. The two are inextricably linked. … Reforming our outdated immigration system will be a stimulus and a jobs package rolled into one. The economic growth we will derive from immigration reform is expected to reduce the deficit by $2.7 trillion over the next decade. Immigration reform will be a tremendous boon to our economy.” (Grover Norquist, Op-Ed, “Time for sensible immigration reform is now,” Daily Caller, 5/21/13)

• Norquist: “The process [on the immigration bill] has just begun and there is much more to be done, but the bill is rooted in strong conservative principles. It provides funding to tighten security on our borders, it seeks out talent by enlisting the best and brightest the world has to offer to tackle the task of growing our economy and creating jobs. It installs a smart E-Verify system to help employers know exactly who they are hiring, and it transforms our guest worker program into one that is market-driven and can respond to the needs of the economy and the labor market instead of one that creates barriers to growth based on arbitrary quotas.” (Grover Norquist, Op-Ed, “Time for sensible immigration reform is now,” Daily Caller, 5/21/13)

• Norquist: “The Partnership for a New American Economy points out that more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants. Those companies employ more than 10 million people worldwide. For what possible reason are we telling talented people who want to become Americans that they should go innovate and create jobs for our competitors overseas? Do we really want to banish from our shores the very spirit that made this country great? Of course we don’t. People are assets; they’re not liabilities. More people, more solutions. More people, more good ideas. More people, more job-creating businesses.” (Grover Norquist, Op-Ed, “Time for sensible immigration reform is now,” Daily Caller, 5/21/13)

Conservative Radio Host Michael Medved: “Is it a good thing or a bad thing for a foreign national who is living and working in the United States to yearn to become an American citizen? Until conservatives come to terms with the obvious answer to this easy question we will never frame a coherent position on the polarizing issue of immigration. … When conservative hard-liners insist that they actually support legal arrivals from abroad and resent only those who enter the country without formal permission, their attitude toward the path to citizenship destroys their credibility.” (Michael Medved, Op-Ed, Reform Should Give Those Here Illegally A Path To Citizenship,” Investor’s Business Daily, 5/21/13)

• Medved: “At a time when too many homegrown Americans take the idea of citizenship for granted, and could never pass the tests on the Constitution, U.S. history or even English proficiency required for naturalization, it’s profoundly encouraging to see countless newcomers with a strikingly different attitude toward Americanization. The prospect of millions of immigrants willing to work and wait for years just so they can formally pledge their allegiance to the flag ought to inspire, rather than alarm, all patriotic conservatives.” (Michael Medved, Op-Ed, Reform Should Give Those Here Illegally A Path To Citizenship,” Investor’s Business Daily, 5/21/13)

• Medved: “Actually, the process of registering with the government for work permits and submitting to comprehensive background checks makes it far less likely — not more likely — that illegal immigrants would mistakenly receive benefits to which they aren’t entitled.” (Michael Medved, Op-Ed, Reform Should Give Those Here Illegally A Path To Citizenship,” Investor’s Business Daily, 5/21/13)

• Medved: “Illegal immigrants who refuse to make that constructive choice will not benefit from immigration reform in any way, since tighter workplace enforcement will make it significantly harder for them to find work. The biggest challenge in implementing the proposed changes involves sorting through 11 million human beings to distinguish those who deserve to stay from those who ought to go home. Fortunately, the proposed legislation from the Senate “gang of eight” never relies on some all-knowing bureaucracy to make those determinations but rather counts on the immigrants themselves to show their worthiness for legal status by placing formidable obstacles, and years of delay, in their path to citizenships. Why would anyone go through this complex process unless he or she felt a deep desire to become a full member of the American family?” (Michael Medved, Op-Ed, Reform Should Give Those Here Illegally A Path To Citizenship,” Investor’s Business Daily, 5/21/13)

Steve Case: “Contrary to the prevailing narrative in Washington that our elected leaders are unable to tackle big problems, the two parties are close to reaching an agreement on common-sense immigration reform — an action that will improve the environment for entrepreneurs to start and scale businesses.” (Steve Case, Op-Ed, “Don’t Let Top Talent Leave the U.S.,” Mashable, 5/22/13)

• Case: “The legislation before the Senate reverses this trend and advances America’s global competitiveness. Among its provisions, the bill establishes a startup visa for job-creating entrepreneurs. It provides funding for STEM education so we can train the next generation of American workers in high-tech careers. Finally, it also raises the cap on the number of H1-B visas that companies can use to attract top-tier talent from around the world. All told, the bipartisan legislation is a boon to America’s economic future.” (Steve Case, Op-Ed, “Don’t Let Top Talent Leave the U.S.,” Mashable, 5/22/13)

• Case: “But most importantly, the [immigration] legislation also addresses the talent issue, ensuring the world’s most promising innovators and entrepreneurs contribute their hard work and creativity to the U.S. economy, rather than to the economy of our competitor nations.” (Steve Case, Op-Ed, “Don’t Let Top Talent Leave the U.S.,” Mashable, 5/22/13)

• Case: “In fact, 40% of Fortune 500 companies in the United States were started by immigrants or the children of immigrants. Studies show that for every 100 additional foreign-born workers in STEM fields in the U.S., 262 jobs are created for native workers. From a competitive standpoint, we have to get back to celebrating and welcoming these men and women. If we don’t, we will continue losing our entrepreneurial edge.” (Steve Case, Op-Ed, “Don’t Let Top Talent Leave the U.S.,” Mashable, 5/22/13)

• Case: “Every year, tens of thousands of graduate students from around the world earn their diplomas in the U.S. and are effectively told to leave and set up competitor businesses abroad. Would-be entrepreneurs with big ideas are stuck in a visa system that does not provide the latitude to leave a big corporation and start a new one. American jobs are lost when Facebook or Google is forced to relocate a project or unit abroad because the leader of that division is denied a visa. This is part of the reason why the percentage of immigrant-founded startups in Silicon Valley has dropped from 53.4% to 43.9% during recent years. Meanwhile, countries like Singapore, Germany, China, India and Canada are making it much easier for the entrepreneurs educated in the U.S. to start businesses in their countries, instead of our own.” (Steve Case, Op-Ed, “Don’t Let Top Talent Leave the U.S.,” Mashable, 5/22/13)