New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called here Tuesday for the inclusion of immigration reform in the presidential debate as one of the most important subjects affecting economic growth in the United States.

In the first of two business forums in Chicago and Boston, Bloomberg defended the role of immigrants as essential.

“(T)here is no way to help the economy as quickly and as cost-free as opening the borders to create jobs and create business,” the billionaire mayor told a meeting of the Economic Club of Chicago