Mayor Luke Ravenstahl signed a pledge Friday saying he supports national immigration reform.
The mayor said the reforms would increase the tax base, increase business and add diversity to the city. Ravenstahl signed the pledge at a meeting of the nonprofit group Vibrant Pittsburgh, which believes "a more diverse and talented workforce means a more vibrant future for the Pittsburgh region meeting."
“When you consider the number of students who are here in our city studying at Pitt or at Carnegie Mellon who are foreign born, who are immigrants, who come here to get an education – and then how do we treat them after we educate them? We say, you have to go back home…it’s the craziest, most…just, frustrating thing,” said Ravenstahl just before signing the pledge.
The pledge, from the Partnership for a New American Economy is a group that brings together mayors and business leaders from across the country to advocate for sensible immigration reform.
The partnership is spearheaded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as well as the mayors of Los Angeles, San Antonio and Philadelphia. Executives from Microsoft, News Corporation, Walt Disney Co., Marriot International and Boeing are also involved in the effort.
Local businesses and organizations such as The Allegheny Conference, Alcoa and BNY Mellon also signed their support.
The much touted signing ceremony came as more than 1,000 teens and twenty-somethings were gathered just down the street in the Pittsburgh convention center for the One Young World Summit.
