house. and how you're going to take that voice and a messages and clear and concise and a informative manner you did with me to the house because we're confident that this b will roll over the the house. today support the mayor's reform? >> absolutely. i started my career with the trial attorney position. i've been a business owner and have had a private practice and representing clients and representing businesses and representing individuals and also, they vulnerable population so i'm one of those unique attorneys that's done the range

of immigration work because i'm passionate i have seen the by his side and what it does it our economy and families and our community and i've seen the incredible force that enterprises bring to revitalize our community and to hire talent from within and aboard. i've seen great entrepreneurship by welcoming talented folks from aboard so reforming the immigration system i hope i'll get a chance to be part of it. and we're looking forward to putting together a team and rolling out the historic reform of that system

>> thank you for this conversation. >> thank you to our san francisco chamber of commerce and business forward and sf city for co- hosting this town hall. i'm eager to hear from the other companies about their stories of immigration. tell us your own stories. we're to start with you the ceo of illuminate. >> so my story is not any more special then the stories of what you've heard. you group in india. i gave a shout out and my family

really believes in education and the empowerment through education. there is a certain resistlessness and get out of your comfort zone and explore other things. that's how i got here. the path is not easy it's taken 12 years to get a green card. it limits ones opportunity. first, it will take a long time before the h1 process will allow you to move before jobs and you can't start a business. it took me 9 months to start a business. i was so restless to start something so you take capable

individuals who are smart and driven and you can't limit them. the comprehensive immigration reform everybody in this room agrees we have to pass high school immigration. but having being on the spotlight you can't really traffic or switch between companies and now imagine the population that's route rights and i think it is morally not acceptable. and the children thought they had a country but apparently the country doesn't want them. >> alexander your story. >> hello. i'm originally from columbia and

i was back in columbus. i was in love with computers but we didn't have enough money. eventually this is 1994 i had access to the internet around 1997 and 98. i knew everything was happening in the u.s. i bought a one way ticket to the u.s. i realized my english was really bad. so i had to eat a lot of hamburgers. the only way i realized there was no way to stay in the u.s. if i wanted to be a entrepreneur so i went back to excellently in

columbus in order to pursue any career and i co- founded my first immigrant status. but within a year we had 6 employees i was told i had to leave the country. the - and definitely it's slowing me down. and i was being told to go back to columbia. once you go back to the columbia back in 1999 it was hard to come back. so i was as a entrepreneur not being able to stay here but i feel he fell in love with the love of my life and we had a daughter a week ago. we accelerated our may this and

i was able to stay. she ended up being the co co- founder of my business too. this has to do with inhabitation. we went into the largest bank of voice on demand. we we really had a crowd of thousands of people working from home. we enable thousands of americans to get hired we - so not no where your creating video games in russia you want nice voices for that. we have be able to push the american accent and it's

enabling thousands of people to work for companies all over the planet. but again my life is attached to immigration show you. in columbus we're constantly instrumental. we kind of bring people to the u.s. it's hard to get visas. we were not lucky to get visas two of the 3 we petitioned for for the visas we didn't depreciate. i'm a big advocate for immigration. my mother was deported so i'm close to this and i feel the pain from a business prospective

and personal prospective. itself reason i came to the u.s. it was very attractive in order to start a business. innovation was here and the only area that is looking really bad from anybody's prospective is the immigration law. that's the only thing we need to tweak. thank you very much >> alexander thank you. we're going to move on. >> my immigration story is similar to a lot of entrepreneurs. i came to the united states to pursue a masters in technology. i love my experience being part of the education system and getting a masters and learning from people who were innovating things themselves and teaching students how to do.

being able to be there and being able to be a part of this is incredible. i moved to the valley area to an internship here. my very first job was a start up. trying to take an idea it was so inspiring. being able to experience that desired me to start my own business. i came over on the student visa and working for different employers i was tied to the employer who was definitely very limiting. the process take a long time. but finally, i was able to get a gastrocard and start my own

business. that's important and being able to be a part of this in this debate on immigration reform is critical. personally immigration reform t is important for me. i care a lot about finances. and think about your personal finances oh, you spend money on the gas and electricity but you also make investments and you invest in the stock market and immigration is like that. you have borrowed security and i need to invest in people who create jobs and driving the economy. and people like us enterprises having things around that is

important thank you for having us here >> our first kwes question was to draw out comprehensive stories. the next will be very active among our panel. because one of the common arguments we hear outside of san francisco in silicon valley is they take away the american jobs what would you say. think lightning rod. mayor lee how do you respond to critics >> first of all, you've got to look at the real data and the

institute is did the studies when you've got the talent with the people of high degrees we want to retain here you'll find with technology jobs there are 4 other local jobs that are sustained. so that says if you keep the talent in america other jobs will come attached to that. that's invaluable in san francisco. and did we get from 9.6 percent in unemployment to 5.2 >> it's because of you're great leadership. >> thank you carl but it's because this fact is very true. along with one job comes others it's valuable to our tourism and

the labor unions know this that's why their backing up this. they know the jobs are being created because the talent is here. we've got to keep the talent here. people spent years getting those mbas. we spent money and investment in those i did not know stuts students then they have to leave with the trouble are the visas and in their prime when the economics of their ideas is right there in front of us we can't get the kind of you immigration talent we have that's a failure of our country. >> mayor lee great points. >> maria od democrat what's

that argument the white house uses as we talk about comprehensive reform. >> first, i want to reiterate itself finding to congress it the immigration reform will play a role in our reducing our national deficit. i think we need to recognize with is a surge of the boarder need to see the surge it will bring to our economy. mayor lee hit it. the supporting business and keeping the right talent will create more jobs. so we continue to drive that messages home. the majority of americans when i look at the numbers support this

common sense approach. creating more jobs fueling the economy with the right talent and the right folks we have been educating. so when you look at the numbers and the pop up most americans support this. and they'll see the benefits in their communities. i've repealed many companies and it requires us to come and see the support at the state and national level what's fueling the education don't for the community. we get real focused on the national community but it's at the state and local level. and even smaller towns across the country. so the messages it is from the

state and local level first >> let's hear from our young entrepreneurs. your creating jobs and paying taxes when you hear this from people what you do you say >> i've definitely paid hoof taxes. the short answer is yeah, the silicon valley if that were not true. it would be like the - i know i've spent a lot of time with interesting people from all over the world and their successful people and their passionate about being here and their contributing to the economy

>> i like to give the example of football. imagine the 49ers and we're going to be playing with another team but what if it is other team had 13 or fourteen people. we have to see the u.s. as a team are the other countries and we're limiting the team on the field and if canada is allowing their team to to compete against us. to not allow the 49ers to come to the game is not making sense. you want to have the largest team i can in order to beat the

competition and so i have this commercial in their head. all those comments immigrants are lazy and taking our jobs. imagine the same comments have been made as each immigration wave like the italians and now the mexicans but somehow they've contributed to society and we're growing because when you take a diversity of ideas they don't take your jobs. somebody said that the way we have today, the system we have a help wanted sign on one side and on the other side we have a bored with guns. >> let me build on that then because again, the vote in the

senate is happening we believe it's going to be successful. the real battle is in the house. so let's talk about the battle in the house. without naming names a group of 80 executives met with the house and quote we're going to take care of you high terence votes but who cares who picks the strawberries. well, i like strawberries i don't see a lot of american born folks who pick strawberries. we do care we want to see expensive immigration remorseful for all of americans and all

americans. so as we go to the house side and why don't we start with maria. what do we need to do so we get something to work on and perhaps not a house bill paced that's expensive how do we reconcile this and win over the house? >> you know i was speaking to a group of ap i leaders earlier and we all agreed it was a funny timing with the gathering of the senate vote today and really it was important to lay on the table that is work is not done because we've see this major vote in the senate this afternoon. and i think there's some changes in the senate bill and this

space is wide open in the house and the administration continues to have confidence that their is a good bipartisan effort in the house. we might not get everything we're asking for the administrative remains committed to high skills and a low skills. we recognize both are needed. i've worked in georgia for many years and i remember we had companies moving to another state but i also traveled the fields, you know, in southern georgia and struggled to represent individuals who were agricultural workers who were facing removal.

they're both key to maintaining a altercation of a nation of immigrants and my advice to the house side that you stay true to your priorities and the messages i want to get to the house. you've started meeting with key members of the house and don't think that the process is over because of the senate the vote this afternoon. i heard a message that was a straightforward list of concerns and needs and simple for example, fixes that could continue to strengthen your ability to bring essentially he workers but allow the workers to you strive in this economy and allow you the employer the ability to replace those workers and keep the high-level of skill

you need. so continue to voice your priorities loudly >> mayor lee i want to hear from any next co- hosted by julia and kevin but the folks who will be hearing that. from a leadership prospective we're a humanely group of people but people may say that the delegates in the house are one over. almost all of our folks are in all congressional districts. we're asking folks to talk to the key house seats. we know that the advocacy

chamber in san francisco are doing that that as well. that's part of our strategy. mayor lee what is your strategy to make sure that we're not singing to the choir with nancy pelosi and others by your leveraging our relationships. >> well, i can't help but take advantage we're a few days of celebrated the establishment of our country. when i went to china you should see how the chinese-american was welcoming. they said wow. free speech and celebration the best ideas and the hope of the world is reflected in america. how do he get the conversation from the immigrant conversation without u out of fear to one of

hope and about why we're the encounter country in the world. how do we get that conversation reignited here with our folks. i'm proud to be an american and we'll always celebrate the opportunity in this country. so from a senate side we're not going to have family - for many others when we became successful i wanted to share that with our family members. we've also been strong in family where's that tradition. so i want to go back to let's

not have immigration reform based on fear but being the open light to the rest of the world. and with the attitude and spirit then you start saying what makes our country successful. it will not discriminate against gaze and lesbians. we can do more in our immigration policies. this is an opportunity in the celebration of our country let's not make decisions out of fear but out of a progressive approach. so we can have the talent and the values of what we believe in to be reflected in a good inhabitation policy

>> let's hear from so many of the ceos. >> i actually want to follow up on mayor lee's comment. the conversation is about fear it's in human nature to be afraid of what you don't know. for me personally i've seen this in immigrant communities. they tend to stick together and don't reach out the the mainstream americans. personally, i have friends from 40 different countries i get to eat their food. so the responsibility is on the immigrants and the residents to understand each other and build bridges. so having said that having reached out to my friends being

open and honest why it matters to me immigration policy and why would it matter to you. going back to the conversations of the nation it's great for immigrants. that's my personal battle cry and it's really, really easy - let me start again. it's a like the vote will be passed in the house today. we - have pretty much everything on the coast arguing with the immigration reform it's hard to get the congress a men and women to evolving vote in favor of that. we - so somehow we need to reach

the populations in the u.s. to have an action to vote in favor of that. the how the why and the what. so the why you can teach them about the immigrant that's picking straubdz. hey, we need immigration reform because we need the education in the u.s. and by the way, those reforms is going to have a - the why then the how. i'm helping march for innovation. it's an online movement that is making it easy to help people to do action. you go on facebook and