This morning I attended an immigration meeting in Akron, convened by the GAR Foundation. The best part? Everyone in the room agreed we needed to attract more immigrants to our region if we are to have a growing, successful entrepreneurial culture, and so there was no issue to debate.

Instead we focused on the kinds of things we’d need to do to attract immigrants to Northeast Ohio and make them aware of all the benefits the region has to offer: great colleges and universities, a low cost of living and rich cultural and business life, good, high paying tech jobs, the list goes on and on…

But while we were coming up with ways to attract immigrants to Northeast Ohio, our representatives in Washington were–and unfortunately still are–doing everything they can to make it as hard as possible for someone who wants to live and work in America to do so.

The “compromise” bill currently under consideration is nothing short of a disaster. As the Financial Times puts it in an editorial published today, “[B]y Washington standards the bill is a marvel. What a sad reflection on those standards it is to realize that by any other measure the bill is a flop.”

We desperately need immigration reform, but not this bill. What we need is to attract talented, foreign-born professionals and their families to this region in a way that makes them feel welcome and a part of our community.

We are a country and a region built by immigrants. To rebuild our region, we need to make it easy for talented, entrepreneurially-minded non-US citizens to come here and set up shop and stay. The current bill being debated in D.C. does not do this.