legal immigration

Learn more about refugee resettlement - Saturday, August 13

Alert date: 
August 9, 2016
Alert body: 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR - BONUS summer meeting Saturday, August 13th at 2:00pm

OFIR appreciates how busy everyone is with family vacations, visiting relatives, camping trips and BBQ's!

But - you won't want to miss our BONUS summer meeting when we host a very special guest speaker that will answer the questions you have about refugee resettlement

Paul Nachman of Montanans for Immigration Law Enforcement will provide the information we need to understand the refugee resettlement that is happening in Oregon and across the country.  The issue of the resettlement of thousands of Syrian refugees at a time when it is impossible to vet them should trouble everyone.

Jacob Daniels, Donald Trumps Oregon campaign manager will be dropping by to share the candidate's immigration platform with us, as well.

Please join us - bring a friend along with you - Saturday, August 13 at 2:00pm at the Best Western Mill Creek Inn, 3125 Ryan Dr. SE, Salem, just across from the Salem Costco.

The upcoming election is too important - we must get educated before we vote.  Please plan to attend.  Call if you have questions 503.435.0141

Please forward this invitation to a friend.

NOTE:  OFIR will be hosting a booth at the Oregon State Fair - please stop by and say hello!
 

Did you miss Saturday's OFIR meeting?

OFIR hosted their quarterly meeting Saturday afternoon, May 7th.  If you were unable to attend, you missed a packed house and a great meeting!

Dr. Bud Pierce, GOP candidate for Governor was the featured speaker.  Several other candidates also dropped in to introduce themselves to our members and guests.

Oregon's new representative for the Remembrance Project gave a presentation about the national organization.

Oregon Abigail Adams Voter Education Project was there to explain the questionnaire they send to all candidates.

David Olen Cross explained how important your words are - in print!  He encouraged members to write letters to the editor and guest opinions for publication in newspapers across the state.

There was ample time for questions and candidates stayed well after the meeting to distribute campaign materials and meet with OFIR members.

 

  Read more about Did you miss Saturday's OFIR meeting?

Say it in a letter - more than just song lyrics

Does it seem like our country is coming completely unraveled with the lack of enforcement of our immigration laws? 

Everyday we hear another story more horrific than the day before - murders, drugs, gangs, ID theft, tax fraud and even American citizens being laid off their jobs only to be replaced by VISA workers - which they are required to train -  and the list goes on and on.

American citizens are continually being thrown under the bus, so that politicians can flood the country with low-skill, cheap labor supposedly with the potential of a big, future voting block.

Businesses that rely on cheap, illegal labor or even the excessive use of VISA workers have apparently bought off our elected officials and convinced them this is the only way to go.  Meanwhile, citizens get to enjoy being displaced from jobs at all skill levels and even get to pay excessive taxes to support overwhelmed entitlement programs and over-crowded classrooms. 

Our need for evermore housing is causing an environmental creep that is sickening to watch as cheap apartment complexes and ticky-tacky housing developments swallow up our beautiful farmland.

Do you have something to say?  Get it off your chest in a Letter to the Editor.  Elected officials do read them - although it wouldn't seem so.  So - we need to write even more letters to the editor like these collected from across the country. 

Read the rules for submitting your letters to each newspaper and don't overlook small, weekly papers which are often read cover to cover!  Get started today with this inspiring collection of letters:

--------------------

THE ORANGE COUNTY
REGISTER
 
Follow the law on immigration

April 24, 2016

Re: “Obama actions split high court” [Front page, April 19]: You need to look no further than the two quotes the Register published on the Supreme Court’s recent hearing of Obama’s executive action on illegal immigrants. The Supreme Court’s sole job is to interpret the laws. Justice Kennedy gets it when he identifies the issue as whether Obama has used his executive power to usurp Congress’ constitutional authority to make the laws. On the other hand, liberal activist Justice Sotomayor focuses on the economic impact of illegal immigrants, which has nothing to do with the issue of executive overreach. This is why it is so critical to get a Republican president in November so we can get a new justice who knows their constitutional duty, and will follow it.

Greg Woodard
Mission Viejo

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/laws-713209-people-court.html

--------------------

THE ORANGE COUNTY
REGISTER

Follow the law on immigration

April 24, 2016

Once again the president has over-stepped laws and we need the Supreme Court to make a ruling. I can only pray the court has the wisdom to do what is right for our country and not businesses and immigrant rights organizations that are willing to overlook our laws. I cannot see the good in allowing people to break our laws to come here and when they are caught say, “I only want a better life” or “my children were born here.” The parents made the choice to break the law – period.

According to the Register, the court decision will affect 3.5 million people. These are people we must help with food, health care and education, just to name a few freebies. How many of the jobs they do could be done by our returning servicemen and women? Wouldn’t it be better to spend the money we spend on the illegals on our deserving service men and women? We shouldn’t need organizations like Robin Hvidston’s “We the People Rising” to protest the injustice of our broken immigration laws. We do not need more laws for the president to ignore, we need to enforce the laws we have. If you start taking the illegals’ cases one by one, we will never solve this problem and they will just keep coming.

Secure our border and enforce our laws. Problem solved.

Elaine Proko
Anaheim

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/laws-713209-people-court.html

--------------------

THE ORANGE COUNTY
REGISTER

Follow the law on immigration

April 24, 2016

I must take some exception to your statement in regard to the applicability of the rules in question and under review with the Supreme Court. You state that these rules could affect about 100,000 people in Orange County. The main article states that this affects close to 4 million people. I disagree with both counts. This issue affects more than 300 million people, all living here in the United States. Immigration, legal or otherwise, impacts all of us. It particularly impacts us all in a negative way when current laws are ignored and the government goes out of its way to provide for those who have chosen to break our laws. People make choices that they must deal with. If I choose to not pay federal income taxes, there will be ramifications as a result of that choice that affect me and my family. I do not expect a pass. But executive orders at a federal level and state drivers licenses and Medi-Cal coverage only undermine our ability to discourage illegal immigration and to adequately manage and balance legal immigration.

Robert Filacchione
Fullerton

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/laws-713209-people-court.htm

--------------------

THE ORANGE COUNTY
REGISTER


Follow the law on immigration

April 24, 2016

Months before a presidential election, Obama’s executive order for deferring deportation of approximately 4 million illegal immigrants without criminal records, but with lawfully resident children and allowing them to work, obtain driver’s licenses, gain entrance into Social Security with other welfare benefits, is before the Supreme Court.

The plan was first introduced just after the House of Representatives declined a Senate-passed immigration update in 2014. Congress had (restructured) work permits and benefits as a deterrent to unlawful immigration, whereas the administration appeared to be an enabler inciting further transgressions. This was egregious in that it inferred the parents of citizen children were using their children as illegal pawns to gain lawful admittance for themselves.

President Obama promised to transform America. In addition to packing the courts, he’s packing the nation, not only with illegal immigrant adults, but also unattended Central American children, Middle Eastern refugees and released drug traffickers to circulate in our communities, all under the Constitution’s Preamble mandate “To promote the general welfare.”

Jack A. Watkins
Corona del Mar

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/laws-713209-people-court.html

--------------------

SN StarNews    

Letters to the Editor, April 23

Published: Sunday, April 24, 2016

Different walls

Contrary to what some people may think, there is a difference between the Berlin Wall at which President Reagan said “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall” and the wall that Mr. Trump wants to build along our southern border.

The Berlin Wall was built by communist East Germany to keep their people from escaping. Trump wants a wall to keep people out that want to come here illegally. I agree with Trump — stringent action must be taken to stop the flow of illegal aliens coming in.

James A. Torrance
Wilmington

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20160424/ARTICLES/160429842/-1/TOPIC0171

--------------------

DentonRC.com
Denton  Record - Chronicle

Published: 23 April 2016 10:35 PM

Immigration issue

A study published by the Center for Immigration Studies reports 61 million immigrants and their American-born minor children living in the United States.

Between 1970 and 2015, the proportion of immigrants to population increased by 353 percent — six times faster than the general U.S. population, which grew by 59 percent. Some states watched their numbers of immigrants rise much more steeply: in Georgia, 3,058 percent; in Virginia, 1,150 percent; and in Texas, 1,084 percent.

A survey conducted by the consulting firm A.T. Kearney and previewed by Bloomberg Business Week finds that 61 percent of Americans polled say “continued immigration into the country jeopardizes the United States.”

The immigration issue isn’t simply about numbers. It’s whether the nation will remain moored to its founding values or be transformed into a place unrecognizable. A majority of Americans understands that an American identity cannot survive open borders.

The liberal aim is to eliminate all vestiges of America’s heritage to establish a new nation easily integrated into a global village without borders (Washington Times, March 14).

Thomas Sowell’s column (DRC, March 15) states: “Historians of the future, when they look back on our times, may be completely baffled when trying to understand how Western civilization welcomed vast numbers of people hostile to the fundamental values of Western civilization — meaning people who had been taught that they have the right to kill those who do not share their beliefs.”

Europe is reaping the results of its “open door” immigration policy. Will Americans have the same harvest?

Alice Gore,
 Denton

http://www.dentonrc.com/opinion/letters-headlines/20160423-letters-to-the-editor-april-24.ece

--------------------

Lompoc Record

Mailbag

Growers houses
April 23, 2016

Let growers build houses

I have to agree with a recent letter writer. There is a very high level of unemployment in this area.

How about 20-30 percent? Since growers feel a need to import more workers, why doesn't the grower build near his own house? Because he doesn't want to turn his neighborhood into a slum.

If you bring a couple hundred either illegal or legal, unskilled, single guys in, it will become a slum.

Robert Jones
Santa Maria

http://lompocrecord.com/news/opinion/mailbag/porter-experience-growers-houses/article_d330c7ff-1054-58c4-9e9a-4c652889271e.html

--------------------

Journal Inquirer.com
NORTH-CENTRAL CONNECTICUT’S HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER

April 23-24 letters

Immigration concerns

This concerns the all-important issue on immigration. Yes, there always are two sides but I’ll give the side why illegal immigration is not in American interests — just use some common sense here.

Here is a quote from former Rep. Ron Paul on the subject: “This mass migration from the Middle East and beyond is a direct result of the neocon foreign policy of regime-change, invasion, and pushing ‘Democracy’ at the barrel of a gun.” He also had this to say, “This is a man-made crisis and it is a government-made crisis.”

I believe the United States is admitting some 250,000 Muslim immigrants each year. President Barack Obama is allowing Syrian refugees by the thousands into America, despite the fact that it is impossible to check those with sinister plans of terrorism, for example.

Sen. John McCain should be exposed for being a leading supporter of the policies that brought on the refugee crisis.

Obama and EU leaders are fully aware of what brought on a refugee crisis in the Middle East.

They are playing on the compassion for the refugee civilians (children included), a situation brought on by the “globalists.” The bottom line is, illegal immigration is a threat to Western civilization.

There are those who dislike freedom and America. I say, “Get out.”

Harry Lo Giudice
Rocky Hill

http://www.journalinquirer.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/april---letters/article_9ebbbe82-07ac-11e6-9a85-17f2c64555d8.html

--------------------

The Jamestown Sun

Third-party presence is needed in the U.S.

By Mark Schuttenhelm from Jamestown

The corruption that permeates our political parties is on display this primary season. On the Democrat side, it doesn’t matter how many votes Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., amasses; the super delegates will ensure Hillary Clinton gets the nomination. Everyone knows it. Similar shenanigans are happening on the right with Donald Trump. Only difference is Sanders is willing to eat the dirt sandwich being handed to him by party elites. He will take one for the team, but Trump won’t. He continues to expose the Republican Party corruption, and because of that, and his desire to take its cheap labor and free trade deals away, the party apparatchiks despise him. Is our political system salvageable, or is it too far gone?

Many would say it’s too far gone, that short of another American Revolution, we are doomed to deal with these two corrupt entities. I think the presence of a strong third party — a party that would appeal to disaffected Democrats and Republicans — is what’s needed. Not the lunatic fringes of either party, but thoughtful Democrats and Republicans who are sick and tired of holding their noses while voting for the latest pathetic candidate their party has trotted out for them.

The party should feature a simple platform, focusing on the economic health of the middle class and the security of our citizens. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Borders. Open borders are a security and economic nightmare. Our borders must be secured by whatever means necessary — walls, drones, satellites, border patrol, National Guard, etc. Sanctuary cities are unacceptable. Local politicians and law enforcement who refuse to cooperate with the feds will be dealt with harshly, as will businesses that employ illegal aliens.

2. Immigration. Ninety-three million Americans are out of the workforce. Many are looking for work, many have given up. Accordingly, there will be a moratorium on new immigration for five years, at which point the issue will be revisited. When the time comes, potential immigrants will need to be free of communicable diseases, be able to make a case that they will be an asset to our nation and be prepared to learn English.

3. Trade. No more trade deals that benefit big business and/or foreign countries at the expense of American workers. Flawed existing trade deals need to be renegotiated.

4. Corruption in government. U.S. senators and representatives will be limited to two terms and barred from becoming lobbyists when they leave office.

5. H1-B and H2-B visas. These programs are regularly abused by U.S. companies willing to throw American workers under the bus in favor of lower-paid foreigners. These programs will be shelved until a time when an actual labor shortage arises.

http://www.jamestownsun.com/letters/4016437-third-party-presence-needed-us

--------------------

Portland Press Herald

April 23, 2016

Letter to the editor: Support Trump to keep our families safe from terrorists

Radical Muslim terrorists in Pakistan bombed a park frequented by Christian families on Easter Sunday, killing 72 and injuring more than 300. Many of the dead were women and children. Muslim terrorists celebrated after the attack and promised more to come.

Meanwhile, the president of the U.S. emphasizes his goal of bringing thousands more refugees from primarily Muslim countries into the U.S. As Jim Comey, director of the FBI, has stated, it is often impossible to check on the background of these individuals, since they are not in any database.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you like the daily bombings occurring throughout the world and don’t mind if that activity becomes common here also, then please support the approach to immigration favored by President Obama, Hillary Clinton and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree.

On the other hand, if you believe that our kids and families are precious, then I hope you’ll support Donald Trump, who has promised a temporary ban on allowing questionable individuals into the U.S. until we can do so safely.

Ethan Jones
Bath

http://www.pressherald.com/2016/04/23/letter-to-the-editor-support-trump-to-keep-our-families-safe-from-terrorists/

--------------------

MONTEREY
HERALD

Peninsula readers' letters: April 22

By From Daily News Group readers

Cheap labor

Dear Editor: The Democrats are very good at pointing out cases in which a company reaps private profits while dumping on the rest of the society its risks and the damages caused while making these profits. This is exactly what those who employ illegal immigrants are doing: They are reaping the benefits of employing cheap and compliant labor while the costs of having this labor in our country are dumped on all of us. Our builders are making huge profits, while the rest of us pay for the schooling and welfare of children who should not be here. If our companies are to be made to pay the true costs of their profits, then the employers of illegal immigrants should pay the true costs of their cheap labor force.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. The reality is that many illegal immigrants are purposefully imported to work in illegal businesses set up by their families. These businesses pay wages that are way under the legal minimum and pay no taxes. How is any legitimate American business to compete under such unfair conditions? This is why legitimate American businesses in certain fields have been decimated and many more will go bankrupt as minimum wages are increased.

If you want to have a good laugh at comical duplicity, observe how stringent our unions are regarding any intrusion by illegal Latino labor while voting Democrat. Unfortunately, the joke is on all of us.

Virgil Stevens,
San Carlos

http://www.montereyherald.com/general-news/20160422/peninsula-readers-letters-april-22

--------------------

Miami Herald

April 20, 2016 10:49 PM

Democracy in peril

I’m an avid reader of the news. I constantly see references to and complaints about the tax code, our dysfunctional immigration system, crumbling infrastructure, healthcare and money spent on political campaigns, in addition to many other problems that the wealthiest country in the world should easily be able to fix.

I’m convinced that the reason these problems persist is because the plutocrats who comprise the top 1 percent of the country in wealth and income and who own half of its assets profit from the status quo. This harms the well-being of the other 99 percent and in the long run is a serious danger to our democracy.

The tax code and lobbying laws that greatly benefit the top 1 percent should be revised.

This could provide a more even distribution of wealth, which would improve the standard of living for the rapidly shrinking middle class.

If the middle class disappears, the United States may end up poor and corrupt like many of its southern neighbors.

Paul Alberts, Miami

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article73001427.html

--------------------

JEWISH JOURNAL
Connect. Inform. Inspire.

Posted on Apr. 20, 2016

Immigration Affects Health Care

I wanted to comment on Rob Eshman’s assertion that there is “no illegal immigration crisis” (“Haters, Meet Najia,” April 15). As a primary care physician working with indigent patients including illegal immigrants, I can attest that there is a crisis in L.A. County health care. This is manifested by the long wait times for uninsured residents (legal and illegal) for specialist consultations and by the ability of the consultants to treat only certain problems, as they are overwhelmed by demand. That demand is exacerbated by illegal immigration. California’s generosity toward illegal immigrants keeps drawing them to the state, making planning social services difficult.

Alex Fridman Jr. via email

http://www.jewishjournal.com/letters_to_the_editor/article/letters_to_the_editor_cigars_simone_zimmerman_and_more

--------------------

rrstar.com

Letter: Illegal immigration is detrimental to US economy

By Wally Haas
Opinion editor

Posted Apr. 20, 2016

Scott Reeder’s recent article supported the GOP establishment, leftists who despise America, ethnic advocates like La Raza, the Democratic party and selfish businessmen.

Am I a fascist supporting ethnic cleansing because I respect the law? The Balkan disaster resulted from Yugoslavia, a “multicultural,” secular state, falling apart. Ethnic cleansing followed.

Economic benefits? Is he referring to legal immigrants as entrepreneurs or illegal immigrants as criminals? If our economy grew 6 percent it may be due to 52 percent of legal immigrants being on welfare. Add to that 11-20 million current illegal immigrants. Reflect on family reunification policies and add tens of millions more. Go economy!

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, reported that there were 296,000 incarcerated illegal immigrant in state prisons in 2011. I guess our economy grew as we built new prisons and hired more guards, lawyers and judges. Migrants make up 25 percent of federal prisoners. If Americans hired Americans, wages would probably be higher, thus growing our economy.

I was “accidentally” born to a janitor father. Does that give me the right to take money from a child born of a more prosperous neighbor?

Abuse of H-1B visas, manipulation of guilt and compassion, deceptive terms like nation of immigrants cannot be discussed here. Sorry.

“E pluribus unum”? More like, “E unum pluribus.”

— Daniel King, Roscoe

http://www.rrstar.com/article/20160420/OPINION/160429993

--------------------

THE DAILY
Evergreen

Letter to the editor: College Republicans are not hateful

BY JAMES ALLSUP | (President of WSU College Republicans | Students for Trump Sr Advisor) [April 20, 2016]

In a recent letter to the editor, Hayley Hohman wrote to condemn College Republicans and the decision to host a pro-Trump table in the CUB. Hohman, you are wrong to call those concerned about illegal immigration "fear mongers."

We support legal immigration. We disavow hate. And we support the American Dream – for Americans and those who come here legally.

You are welcome to support moderate policies. I personally believe in the rule of law and strict enforcement of immigration policy, bringing in people who seek to contribute to our economy, and barring those who would break our laws, leech off our system, or do us harm – and the Republican platform agrees with me.

It is not hateful to defend our borders. It is not hateful to want to protect American interests first, nor to refuse to bend over backward for open-borders globalism and allow illegal immigrants to flood our labor market, putting Americans out of work.

I challenge you to demonstrate how defending American sovereignty is "hateful."

I question how you can state that the pro-security "movement" is not Republican. The leading candidates, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, both support building the wall. As WSU College Republicans (WSUCR) president, I work to increase awareness of all Republican candidates. Our board comprises supporters of many former Republican candidates.

Since the event, we have seen an influx of interest. Dozens of students have come out of the shadows, thanking WSUCR for standing up for free speech and voicing support for conservatism on campus.

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/opinion/article_42526fcc-0687-11e6-9973-877ce88dfd81.html

-------------------

The World

We've failed to enforce Immigration laws

April 20, 2016

I find the hypocrisy interesting that the media, the federal government and so many others are “outraged” at the recent events in Eastern Oregon involving the “Bundy Bunch” occupation of a wildlife refuge, while there is such limited “outrage” over President Obama’s absolute failure to enforce our immigration laws with equal vigor.

Let’s look at the facts. Did the Bundy Bunch break the letter of the law with their occupation? Yes. Did it result in costs to the public? Yes. Were any public innocents killed? No. What was the size of terror? Limited.

Let’s look at the Obama administration’s neglect to enforce our immigration laws in comparison. Was the letter of the law broken when Obama directed his agencies to not enforce existing immigration law? Yes. Did it result in costs to the public? Billions of dollars when you total up private as well as direct public costs. Were any public innocents killed? Thousands, when all the murders and vehicle accident casualties are counted, caused by the influx of illegal immigrants. This doesn’t even take into account the rapes and other criminal activity, nor does it include the casualties or costs caused by diseases brought into this country wholesale by the uncontrolled mass influx of illegals in recent years. Was terror created? Absolutely.

While I don’t approve of anarchy in any form, whether by citizens revolting against the law, or the government itself failing to enforce the law, I hope whoever sits on the jury trials for the Bundy Bunch will take a page from our pre-Revolutionary history and refuse to find the Bundy Bunch guilty, just as our forefathers refused to convict people charged with crimes against King George’s laws.

When government picks and chooses which laws to enforce, and against whom, we are no longer a free government of the people, but closer to the tyranny of King George.

In my opinion, our Congress and federal attorney general are derelict to their oath of office for not finding our president guilty of not performing his duties as chief law enforcement officer under the Constitution regarding protecting our country’s borders, causing death, facilitating the spread of disease, and costing individual citizens and the public generally billions of dollars.

JohnShank
Coos Bay

http://theworldlink.com/news/opinion/mailbag/we-ve-failed-to-enforce-immigration-laws/article_48f3d96c-b749-512a-a1c8-5494334c65c4.html Read more about Say it in a letter - more than just song lyrics

So what, another Earth Day comes and goes

Oregonians for Immigration Reform was founded 16 years ago by just a handful of people that were very concerned about the impact on our environment of unfettered illegal immigration and excessive legal immigration. 

The roots of many organizations across the country working to stop illegal immigration and slow legal immigration to a more sustainable level often start with concerns about the environment and the impact of more and more people coming to the US.

OFIR has since expanded it's membership to include thousands of members across the state with those same concerns and many more, i.e. national security, terrorism, jobs, stagnant wages, over-crowded schools, crime, drugs, disease, a culture of corruption, gangs and on and on.

CAIRCO's Fred Elbel wrote of his experiences with the Sierra Club, a group that chose to ignore the impact of immigration on our fragile environment and our own quality of life.  They made that choice - for money.  He included an informative article written by Ian Smith and published in the Daily Caller that explains just how it happened.

NOTE:  The CAIRCO website is a treasure trove of information for anyone wanting to learn more about immigration.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday was Earth Day. 

I once was a member of the Sierra Club in the mid-1990s, back when their population policy included addressing mass immigration as the root cause of US Population growth. At that time, environmentalists had a lot of common sense. 

Some environmentalists still do, but most environmental organizations today are feel-good social justice corporate profit centers. Take the Sierra Club as a case in point. They sold out to immigration political correctness to the tune of $100 million!

This excellent article by Ian Smith explains the gory details. It's a good read.

Earth Day: A Time To Remember When Tightening The Border Topped The Green Agenda, The Daily Caller, April 22, 2016.

I was a member and a director of SUSPS, which in the late 1990s fought to reinstate the Sierra Club's long-standing, sensible immigration policy:

"Since 1996, leaders of the Sierra Club have refused to admit that immigration driven, rapid U.S. population growth causes massive environmental problems. And they have refused to acknowledge the need to reduce U.S. immigration levels in order to stabilize the U.S. population and protect our natural resources. Their refusal to do what common sense says is best for the environment was a mystery for nearly a decade.

Then, on Oct. 27, 2004, the Los Angeles Times revealed the answer: David Gelbaum, a super rich donor, had demanded this position from the Sierra Club in return for huge donations! Kenneth Weiss, author of the LA Times article that broke the story, quoted what David Gelbaum said to Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope:

"I did tell Carl Pope in 1994 or 1995 that if they ever came out anti-immigration, they would never get a dollar from me."

In 1996 and again in 1998, the Club's leaders proved their loyalty to Gelbaum's position on immigration, first by enacting a policy of neutrality on immigration and then by aggressively opposing a referendum to overturn that policy. In 2000 and 2001, Gelbaum rewarded the Club with total donations to the Sierra Club Foundation exceeding $100 million. In 2004 and 2005, the Club's top leaders and management showed their gratitude for the donations by stifling dissent and vehemently opposing member efforts to enact an immigration reduction policy...

Read more at SUSPS.

Here is a formal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on United States Immigration Policy. Immigration driven US population growth really does have environmental consequences - which most politicians gladly ignore in exchange for support from their donor base.

 

Sincerely,
 

Fred Elbel
Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform

  Read more about So what, another Earth Day comes and goes

Oregon Freedom Rally - Saturday, February 6

Alert date: 
January 25, 2016
Alert body: 

If you are interested in seeing Michelle Malkin, Dinesh De'Souza, Todd Starnes and Rep. Greg Walden and hearing what they have to say about the upcoming elections, then you won't want to miss the Oregon Freedom Rally at the Oregon Convention Center, Saturday, February 6 from noon - 3:00pm.

Register on line and get more information here.

OFIR will be hosting a table at the event.  Please stop by and say HELLO!

 

Are Cruz and Rubio natural born citizens? How do we decide who is eligible to be President?

We've been down this road before - eight years ago.  And, here we go again...

What criteria defines eligibility to be President?  Does one need to be born on American soil to parents that are both American citizens?  What about being born to one parent that's an American citizen, but not born in the US?  Or, what about being born to parents that are not American citizens, but being born in the US?

As our country is flooded with more immigrants every year, coming here both legally and illegally, it's past time to define, once and for all, who is eligible to hold our country's highest office. 

The framers of our Constitution had very specific reasons for including in the requirement to be President, that the candidate be "natural born".

Scholars from across the country have weighed in on the motive and intent of "natural born". 

Read more about how your favorite candidate may be disqualified from the Presidential race. Read more about Are Cruz and Rubio natural born citizens? How do we decide who is eligible to be President?

January 20th forum will discuss refugees coming to Salem

Alert date: 
January 15, 2016
Alert body: 

A public forum on Jan. 20 will discuss 50 refugees who will be coming to Salem starting in February and continuing through September.

The forum, known as the Refugee Forum on Jobs and Literacy, is scheduled from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Anderson Room of the Salem Public Library, 585 Liberty St SE.

Francisco Lopez, a refugee from El Salvador, will host the event.

During the event, there will be speeches and presentations made by various organizers from Catholic Charities and local groups, as well as a panel of three refugees who live in Salem currently, followed by a Q&A session.

Organizers will discuss what services and programs are already in place for the refugees and what help they need from community members and volunteers. Any unresolved issues will be addressed during the Q&A period.

Organizers said they would like to form task forces during this period should further work need to be done.

They will primarily be discussing employment, education and English-language learning, cultural transition, and transportation.

There will be other activities and refreshments as well. This event is free and open to the public.

By Natalie Pate


 

Letters of frustration continue to flood newspapers across the country

A collection of letters from across the country reveals the growing frustration of Americans with the current administration's lack of regard for the impact of their actions.

It takes just a few minutes to write and submit a letter to the editor.  Be concise and to the point with your thoughts.  Need help getting started?  Check out letters others have written for ideas for your own letter.

Submit letters to your local newspaper or larger regional newspapers.  Don't forget the small, weekly papers which are often read cover to cover. 

If your letter is published, send it to OFIR and we will post it on our website in our letters section!  Get started today!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Jamestown Sun

Letter to the editor: OPT expansion damaging to American worker

By Mark Schuttenhelm Today [January 5, 2016] at 7:38 a.m.

Barack Obama’s reign of terror over the American middle class continues. His most recent slap in the face of the American worker is part of his executive order, which attempted to legalize and provide work permits to about 5 million illegal aliens. He doesn’t have the power, legally, to pull any of this off, but why should that stop him?

Part of that executive order is an expansion of OPT, or Optional Practical Training program. This program is so damaging to the American worker even the pro-Democrat AFL-CIO came out against it. OPT is a jobs program that benefits foreign students at the expense of homegrown American students and jobseekers. Currently under this program, about 130,000 foreign students per year are given temporary work permits for one or two years. Obama’s new proposal increases the number to about 700,000 per year and extends the time period to three years.

Why is this so damaging to unemployed Americans seeking to enter the job market? Potential employers pay no payroll taxes for these foreign graduates. That saves the employer about $12,000 per year for each foreign student hired over an American. If that isn’t bad enough, the foreign student gets a pass on his or her portion of the Social Security payroll tax also, which shortchanges the Social Security fund by about a $1 billion a year, a number that will only increase under Obama’s new proposal. That’s a billion-plus dollars not available to pay American retirees.

And these are good STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) jobs, averaging about $50,000 per year. So if your son or daughter has just graduated college with a pile of student debt, or perhaps you yourself are seeking employment, remember, thanks to the current occupant of the White House, a prospective employer has about 12,000 reasons to give that job to a graduating foreign student. Your federal government strikes again.

http://www.jamestownsun.com/letters/3917204-letter-editor-opt-expansion-damaging-american-worker

 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WyomingTribuneEagle
WYOMING NEWS.com

Muslims not committed to principles of America

From Mark Roberts, Cheyenne  [January 5, 2016] 3 hrs ago

I know that the liberal leftists who we have entrusted our country to have to rely on emotions to advance a forever left-moving agenda in America.

To that end we hear statements like “That’s not who we are” by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., when asked about halting Syrian refugees until they could be vetted. Even former President George W. Bush had the audacity to refer to Islam as a religion of peace!

Well, let’s forget the propaganda and look at some facts.

Fact No. 1 – On Sept. 11, 2001, 2,752 people were killed in New York City, 184 in Washington, D.C., and 40 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. And since 9/11, 89 people have been killed on U.S soil by Muslims!

The number of Muslims killed on American soil in retaliation? One! A Muslim convenience store owner was killed in Texas by a white supremacist who claimed to be angry after he saw the towers fall on 9/11.

Even the worst president in our history (before Barack Obama) had the good sense to limit immigration from Iran after “students” took more than 60 hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979.

Fact No. 2: Yes, Jimmy Carter not only stopped Iranians from coming here, he also required Iranian “students” who were already here to report for possible deportation.

Religion of peace? Islamic people are governed by the sharia. These peaceful people who want to live in the land of the free have a list of laws that have to be enforced to be a good Muslim.

And let us not forget that Muslims under sharia are required to practice taqiyya, which is to lie to non-Muslims to the advancement of Islam.

In other words, these “peaceful” people are required to lie when asked if they support killing non-Muslims while their leaders make no bones about wanting death to America!

Fact No. 3: In a recent poll of Muslims in America, when asked if they believe that sharia law supersedes the Constitution, 51 percent said yes. I wonder if the other 49 percent were practicing taqiyya?

http://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_6fb207ae-b36a-11e5-a949-174d0e7f96e7.html

 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Press-Enterprise

LETTERS: Free speech trumps hate speech

PRESS-ENTERPRISE

Published: Jan. 4, 2016 Updated: 6:29 p.m.

“Google’s dangerous bid to block ‘hate speech’” [Opinion, Jan. 2]: The column rightly says that it is difficult to brand hate speech.

But liberals are desperate. They brand everything Donald Trump says as hate speech. The constitution guarantees the right to free speech. But that applies to everyone, not just the liberals.

Free speech is a valuable thing and should be used wisely. I do not believe that free speech gives one individual the right to say hurtful or disrespectful things about another human being. But it does give you the right to disagree with someone’s actions or positions. That is not hate or racist, which is what liberals constantly accuse Republicans of doing. They are desperate and dead wrong.

This country is waking up to the lies they have been fed for so many years. It is in danger from our enemies, and those enemies are now Islamic. The president and the peaceful Islamic community needs to wake up and condemn the radical Islamists before they destroy the faith.

Donald is right, we cannot allow anyone into our country when they are suspected of terrorism. This applies to everyone, not just the Syrian refugees. This is not hate speech, this is a matter of our safety.

So let’s shut up with the hate and racism rhetoric and protect our country. We do not need anymore refugees, so let them stay home and fight for their country of origin. And while we’re at it, let’s demand proof of citizenship for all employees and jail employers that hire illegal aliens. That would soon solve the illegal alien problem as they would go back home voluntarily if they cannot find work.

The only hate involved in any of these ideas is the hate of government which constantly makes excuses for law breakers and possible terrorists.

Clean up government and enact these ideas and the problem goes away.

Glen Chaffin - Corona

http://www.pe.com/articles/hate-790863-speech-country.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------      

BOZEMAN DAILY
CHRONICLE

Immigration analysis missed many points

By Craig Bryant  Dec 4, 2015

The Nov. 12 article “GOP divide grows on immigration, threatening election prospects” contains analysis that its author, David Lightman of McClatchy’s Washington Bureau, presumably thinks is knowledgeable and shrewd. It “ain’t.”

Lightman divides Republican candidates into “hard-core conservatives who have had enough of compromises” (Trump and Cruz) and “pragmatists” (Rubio, Kasich, and Bush ). The division is between those who agree that illegal aliens must leave our country, including by deportation -- a strategy that journalist Lightman clearly thinks is “nuts” -- and those who favor amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, the pragmatic approach according to Lightman.

This reveals Lightman’s ignorance, for consider the history: The original 1986 mass amnesty, promised to us citizens as a one-time evasion of the rule-of-law, to fix a long-festering problem, was expected to legalize about one million illegal aliens. The number turned out to be around 2.7 million, and the incidence of fraud was enormous (estimated at 800 thousand concentrated in the Special Agricultural Worker component of the amnesty.) Despite that “one time” promise, there have been six subsequent mass amnesties, aggregating to about another three million illegal aliens gaining legal status.

Yet after all that, there are now well over 11 million illegal aliens in the U.S., far more than when we started down this road to nowhere. So what would be “pragmatic” about yet another mass amnesty?

The only strategy that will actually end illegal immigration is to rigorously enforce the laws so that illegal aliens can’t get jobs, can’t collect public benefits, and will be deported (individually) if they have encounters with police. Then most illegal aliens will leave (“self deport”) on their own, the “attrition by enforcement” approach that’s worked whenever it’s been tried. Trump and Cruz understand this, while Kasich, Rubio, Bush and journalist Lightman choose not to. Militarized mass deportations aren’t needed.

Craig Bryant - Bozeman

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/opinions/letters_to_editor/immigration-analysis-missed-many-points/article_95852e7f-09d8-5b48-851f-79e638792f14.html

 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UTICAOD.COM
OBSERVER-DISPATCH The Mohawk Valleys Information Source

YOUR VIEW: Letters to the editor

Posted Jan. 3, 2016 at 3:15 AM

Let’s make English official language of United States

Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President (1901-1909) once said “Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country.”

Then why in Utica, New York, are over 42 languages spoken in our public high school? People come to America to assimilate into the American Society to become part of a new culture. The naturalization oath completely renounces all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign state and to support and defend the constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Instead they come to America and demand that we adjust to their languages, cultures, values and heritage.

If they want to keep their heritage they have to go back to their own countries. Otherwise they are welcome to stay in United States and keep their heritage at their own expense, but not at the expense of the taxpayer.

When will Congress draft an amendment to the Constitution and make English the official language of this country? English is the glue that keeps America together. We need courageous representatives in Washington to assemble 226 years after George Washington to agree unanimously and make English the official language.

JOSEPH JACOB - Utica

http://www.uticaod.com/opinion/20160103/your-view-letters-to-editor

 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Star Beacon

Posted: Sunday, January 3, 2016 12:30 am

Joyce siding with Obama

Once again, Republican Congressman Dave Joyce (Ohio’s 14th District) has failed his constituents. This time, he voted for the $1.1 trillion Omnibus spending bill that gives President Obama essentially a blank check to fund his disastrous agenda to transform America.

But that is not the whole story. Mr. Joyce knew that 86 percent of his constituents were not in favor of allowing a flood of Syrian refugees into our country. However, he disregarded the overwhelming majority’s wishes and chose to fully fund Obama’s Syrian refugee program by supporting this bill. In the same vote, Mr. Joyce also agreed to the funding of illegal alien resettlement, sanctuary cities and Middle Eastern immigration programs.

In doing so, Mr. Joyce has demonstrated his acceptance of Obama’s radical vision of “Hope and Change” while violating his oath of office to serve and protect the citizens of his congressional district. Now, he is clearly in lockstep with the ruling class elites who are determined to change America by literally changing the make­up of our population.

The 2016 elections are crucial to the future of our country and to all of us as individual citizens. We must turn fears of our current transformation into real hope for a brighter, safer future. One way of doing that is to replace those incumbents such as Dave Joyce who no longer believe in the sovereignty of our nation, those who continue to choose the interests of foreign nationals over Americans.

Please check out the website MattLynch.com. You will find an honorable man who will represent your interests and believes in our constitutional rights and our nation’s sovereignty. Mr. Lynch will be part of the conservative coalition in Congress that is needed to eliminate the profound and pervasive government spending and corruption. Mr. Lynch will fight to reverse our current march toward a country we would otherwise soon not recognize.

Brian Massie - Concord Township

http://www.starbeacon.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/letter-to-the-editor/article_df52f033-ecbc-5d9a-981e-83a7e911709e.html

 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Buffalo News

Letter: Trump’s critics need to stick to the facts

on January 3, 2016 - 12:01 AM

Trump’s critics need to stick to the facts

It’s disgusting to see people like the Rev. Richard Malone, Dr. Khalid Qazi and many other so-called community leaders twist and distort statements made by Donald Trump to fit their agenda.

They continually leave out the word “temporarily” from his statement on stopping Muslim immigration. Just as the media and community leaders leave out the word “illegal” when he talks about Mexican immigrants.

They have their right to their opinion, but that should be based on accurate information and not a distorted version of what people actually say to fit a certain narrative or agenda.

Their statement that Trump’s proposals will “bring comfort to the Islamic State and its allies” is similar to Hillary Clinton’s statement that Trump “is becoming ISIS’ best recruiter.” This has been fact-checked and proven to be wrong.

And I would like to ask these people: At what point will the United States be unable to accept immigrants? Because that time will come, and what will they say then?

David Nowak - Amherst

http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/letter-trumps-critics-need-to-stick-to-the-facts-20160103

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TCPALM

Letter: It’s not ‘anti-immigrant’ to oppose illegal immigration

[January 3, 2015] 4:00 a.m.

Diane Greto, Vero Beach

Letter: It's not 'anti-immigrant' to oppose illegal immigration

Nathaniel Osborn (Dec. 23 letter) takes letter writer John Grychak to task for siding with Donald Trump and his plans to "build the biggest, highest wall ever built" to keep out Muslims and Latinos.

Osborn goes on to lecture about "anti-immigrant rhetoric," and mentions the German, Irish, Chinese and Eastern European immigrants who came to this country in the 18th and 19th centuries and who were accused of undermining America at the time.

As a "local high school teacher," Mr. Osborn surely you know the difference between illegal and legal. The bodies coming over our border are illegal and a threat to our national security, plain and simple.

Meanwhile, there are thousands of immigrants-to-be who are waiting patiently and going through the right channels legally to come to this great country. They want to learn the English language and Pledge of Allegiance to our flag and become American citizens in every way, just like those early immigrants. Those are the immigrants I welcome.

Meanwhile, we must protect our borders in every way possible.

http://www.tcpalm.com/letters-to-the-editor/letter-its-not-anti-immigrant-to-oppose-illegal-immigration-2808e9c9-5313-284b-e053-0100007f0f75-363843081.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Courier Life’s
BROOKLYN DAILY

January 3, 2016 / News / Letters

Sound Off to the Editor

‘Bravo,’ Sue

To the editor,

Inevitably some will call her racist but I say “bravo” to Sue Smith of Bensonhurst for her letter describing how our borough is being taken over by illegal immigrants, who use our social services and contribute nothing to our society (“Sounding off,” Sound of to the Editor, Dec. 25). Thank you, Sue, for being brave enough to write what you did.

Maureen Abato - Sheepshead Bay

http://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2016/1/all-letters-2016-01-01-bd.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tri-City Herald

January 2, 2016 5:28 PM

Letter: Why can’t government use social media posts to screen immigrants?

If I understand correctly, it is OK for employers to use social media posts when making decisions on whether to hire or not to hire an applicant, or to dismiss an employee.

However, under the wise leadership of the current administration, government organizations responsible for approving applications for admittance into the United States are not allowed to use social media as part of the decision-making process. Did I miss something somewhere?

According to a former Department of Homeland Security official, the administration ordered them to terminate their efforts to monitor individuals with potential ties to terrorists who wanted to come into the United States, because it might be considered profiling. Seems to me that all of these terrorists fit one profile. It is not guns that are killing Americans, it is political correctness.

Gerald Sorensen, Richland

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article52558875.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TIMES-CALL
Letters to the Editor

William Manion: Government attempting to mold people's attitudes

Posted:  01/02/2016 11:17:45 PM MST | Updated:  about 10 hours ago

My 1,700 page dictionary does not list "inclusivity" as being a real word. Same for "sustainability."

It seems to be that the Boulder County commissioners like to come up with some cause they want to promote, then they invent a name for it to try to make it sound important. If it is something truly important, doesn't it deserve a title that makes use of real words?

Here is a heads-up for the county commissioners: It is not your job to try to mold people's opinions or attitudes.

Millions of U.S. citizens are appalled that our federal government has not secured our borders. Our country is inundated with immigrants, many of them here illegally. Those of us who do not want to welcome other immigrants at this time certainly have good reasons for feeling that way.

I believe that we citizens need to be wary of any attempts by government officials to influence citizens' opinions or attitudes to conform to their extremes of "political correctness."

William Manion - Longmont

http://www.timescall.com/opinion/letterstotheeditor/ci_29336525/william-manion-government-attempting-mold-peoples-attitudes

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your News, Your Way.
Tyler Morning Telegraph

Published on Saturday, 2 January 2016 20:21 - Written by

TRUMP

If Republican leaders keep up their stupid agenda of little or no opposition to President Obama, then Donald Trump will soon be the nominee of the vast hoard of outraged Republicans. Some may not agree with all he says, but much of it is what people want to hear.

Current Republican leadership stinks and is completely lacking in tough opposition to President Obama and his irresponsible policies on virtually everything, including open borders for illegal immigrants, criminals, refugees and terrorists.

History says under today’s conditions and chaos, Trump will emerge as our new president, like it or not.

Citizens are fed up with all career politicians and their false promises and lies. The good will be voted out with the bad when citizens feel betrayed and put upon by abusive government policies, regulations and legislation gushing out of Washington in the trillions of dollars - money we don’t have.

Harry Bergman - Tyler

http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-Letters+to+Editor/229254/george-will-wrongly-dismissed-creationists-believers

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

         The
Californian A Gannett Company

Syrian refugees and terrorism

Virgil M. Piper 12 a.m. PST January 2, 2016

When it comes to U.S. Immigration, it appears we are very good at ignoring the law. To begin with, it is offensive, apparently, to use the term “illegal alien.” Instead, it is considered good manners to refer to the millions of persons in this country in violation of our immigration laws as “undocumented immigrants.”

California, desperate for cheap labor, has abrogated or otherwise ignored immigration requirements by issuing driver’s licenses. The state has encouraged local authorities to ignore an agreement with the Obama administration allowing federal immigration agents to review fingerprints under the “Secure Communities Program” in order to track down and pick up every deportable immigrant arrested by local police. Incredibly, San Francisco has opted to be a “Sanctuary City.”

Currently, we have a controversy involving the refugee status for 10,000 Syrians. President Obama claims this process takes two years to complete but he proposes that we do our part by resettling 10,000 refugees by October 2016.

On the other hand, several states have given notice they will not accept Syrian refugees. President Obama claims these states cannot deny entry – but what are the guidelines provided by U.S. Law?

The Refugee Act of 1980 was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on March 17, 1980. A refugee is defined as “any person outside his or her country unable or unwilling to return to his or her country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” One wonders how many of these 10,000 Syrian refugees actually fall within this defined requirement.

Section (2)(A) of the 1980 Refugee Act: “The Director and the Federal agency administering subsection (b)(1), shall consult regularly (not less often than quarterly) with State and local governments and private nonprofit voluntary agencies concerning the sponsorship process and the intended distribution of refugees among the States and localities before their placement in those States and localities.”

Accordingly, by law the various States do have the right to refuse refugees. Relocation concerns include the availability of employment opportunities, affordable housing, and public and private resources (including educational, health care and mental health services) for refugees in the area. The most important consideration is the likelihood of refugees placed in the area becoming self-sufficient and free from long-term dependence on public assistance.

The obvious question is whether we are granting entry of terrorists among these refugees. On the other hand, how many of the more than 11 million illegals already present in the United States are sleeper terrorists?

According to one senior official, approximately half of the estimated 11-plus million undocumented immigrants crossed the Mexican border illegally; the other half simply stayed beyond the expiration date of their visa or pursued refugee status much like the children lined up on the Mexican border. Additionally, the Cuban Adjustment Act allows Cuban citizens the right to stay in the United States if he or she is able to set foot on American soil.

One wonders why a terrorist would bother with this two-year Syrian refugee process when all they have to do is become a Cuban citizen or simply slip across the Mexican border.

Clearly, this country must make some attempt to enforce existing immigration laws if the threat of terrorism is to be taken seriously.

Virgil M. Piper, a frequent Soap Box contributor, is a Marina resident.

http://www.thecalifornian.com/story/opinion/2016/01/02/syrian-refugees-terrorism/78187808/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

app.com ASBURY PARK PRESS
A GANNETT COMPANY

LETTER: Fixing illegal immigration requires honesty

2:56 p.m. EST January 1, 2016

People who walk across our border illegally have performed a criminal act. Politicians want to give them amnesty. Why?

We have laws, but no one will enforce them. When you give them welfare, food stamps, even a driver’s license, you only encourage more of the same bad behavior: lawbreaking criminal acts.

How about everyone who came here legally? What about the hard work and money they spent to assimilate to the American way of life? Why doesn’t anyone bring up the fact that it’s an insult to these people who came here legally and went through the process to become an American?

Most of us are tired of lawbreakers — that includes politicians. The last seven years have been brutal. The destruction of America led by President Barack Obama, the Democrats and willing Republicans is despicable!

We can fix the illegal problem easily, but we need honest, law-abiding politicians who actually love America and everything it stands for.

Matilda Schafhauser - Westmont

http://www.app.com/story/opinion/readers/2016/01/01/letter-fixing-illegal-immigration-requires-honesty/78181102/
Read more about Letters of frustration continue to flood newspapers across the country

New Year’s Surprise: Obama Regulation To Give Work-Permits To Foreign College-Graduates

As the nation prepares to ring in the New Year, President Barack Obama is preparing a colossal new executive action that could print-up work permits for a huge number of foreign white-collar graduates every year, above and beyond the levels set by Congress.

This executive action, which directly bypasses Congressional lawmakers, is likely to reverberate across the presidential race, as GOP voters look to choose a nominee they believe will most effectively roll back the President’s still-expanding agenda.  And it will certainly raise new security concerns as it covers categories of immigration utilized by migrants from the Middle East and nearby regions.

President Barack Obama’s Department of Homeland Security plans to publish the proposed rule tomorrow, the last day of 2015.

The 181-page rule focuses primarily on giving work-permits to foreign college-grads who will compete against Americans for white collar jobs, despite the large number of American graduates now stuck in lower-wage positions and struggling to pay off college debts. The rule will also make each foreign graduate much cheaper for U.S. employers to hire than many U.S.-born college grads.

“Obama has gone the Full Monty to bust the immigration system,” says immigration lawyer John Miano. “What is going on is he is effectively giving Green Cards to people on H-1B visas who are unable to get Green Cards due to the [annual] quotas… it could be over 100,000.”

The new rules to aid foreign college-graduates are an extension of his earlier efforts to bypass popular laws against illegal immigration, said Miano, the co-author of a new book about the painful impact of the white-collar guest-worker programs, titled “Sold Out.”

This executive action could have been prevented, however, had the bipartisan 2016 omnibus funding included language proposed by Immigration Subcommittee Chairman
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
80%

.

In April, Sessions proposed language to reduce and cap the number of work-permits — dubbed “Employment Authorization Documents” — that could be distributed to foreign workers each year. Sessions’ recommendation was rejected by GOP and Democratic leaders in Congress, and so House Speaker
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)
56%

’s December omnibus is enabling the president’s new executive action.

In 2012, Obama bypassed laws against illegal immigration by awarding two-year work-permits to at least 800,000 younger foreign migrants who were brought here by their illegal immigrant parents. In 2015, the courts blocked his November 2014 amnesty plan to award work-permits to roughly 5 million resident migrants who have U.S.-born children. From 2009 to 2015, Obama also allowed at least 250,000 Central American migrants into the United States to request asylum or refugee status. In 2013, Obama added roughly 2 million extra foreign workers to the economy, while roughly 4 million young Americans began looking for work.

“The objective here is to strip American workers of their protections from foreign labor embodied in the Green Card quotas” that are set by Congress, not the White House, Miano said.

The annual award of Green Cards — and vital preliminary work-permits — is limited by quotas that mostly impact the many Indian and Chinese graduates who come to the United States as H-1B guest-workers, or who first arrive as students and later start working in the United States via the Optional Practical Training and H-1B programs.

Roughly 650,000 foreign graduates are working in the United States for roughly 5 years each under the H-1B program. Roughly 120,000 foreign graduates of U.S. colleges are working in the United States for two years each via the OPT program, often called the ‘mini-H-1B program.’ Without this new regulation, most of those foreign graduates will return home after several years, forcing companies to hire U.S. graduates in their place.

The foreign graduates typically get entry-level jobs that would otherwise go to new U.S. business graduates, designers, doctors, programmers, engineers and scientists.  Also, the foreign graduates are used to replace mid-level American professionals once they seek mid-career pay-raises to help pay for mortgages and child-rearing.

According to the pending regulation, “many of these changes are primarily aimed at improving the ability of U.S. employers to hire and retain [foreign] high-skilled workers who are beneficiaries of approved employment-based immigrant visa petitions and are waiting to become lawful permanent residents (LPRs), while increasing the ability of such [foreign] workers to seek promotions, accept lateral positions with current employers, change employers, or pursue other employment options.”

The new policy also creates a large economic incentive for U.S. employers to hire foreign college-grads instead of new American college-grads.

That’s because the policy will allow U.S. employers to hire foreign college graduates at very low salaries. The foreign graduates will gladly take those low-wage white-collar jobs because the new policy allows them to get deferred payments from the federal government — valuable permanent work-permits that are the first step on the golden pathway to Green Cards and citizenship.

In contrast, employers can’t pay American graduates with this combination of low-salaries plus the federal promise of citizenship — because the Americans already have citizenship.

That means employers must pay more money to hire American college-grads than they would to hire foreign college-grads. That puts a huge disadvantage on American graduates because they need higher salaries to pay off their expensive U.S. college debt.

Miano slammed the new regulations, and said they reflect Obama’s preference for foreigners over Americans.

“Notice that when foreign workers are going to lose their jobs, Obama has DHS make protecting their jobs the agency’s highest priority,” chiefly by minimizing enforcement of immigration laws, he told Breitbart News. But “when American workers lose their jobs to foreign workers, Obama does absolutely nothing,” he said.

“We have a president with a very warped sense of priorities,” he added.

The public can object to the new regulations, according to the DHS document.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before [Insert date 60 days from date of publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER].

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by DHS Docket No. USCIS-2015-0008, by one of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: You may submit comments to USCIS by visiting http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

E-mail: You may submit comments directly to USCIS by e-mailing them to:

USCISFRComment@dhs.gov. Please include DHS Docket No. USCIS-2015-0008 in the subject line of the message.

Follow Neil Munro on Twitter, at @NeilMunroDC
  Read more about New Year’s Surprise: Obama Regulation To Give Work-Permits To Foreign College-Graduates

Post Mortem on Omnibus spending bill

 
The Republican leadership in Congress has shown itself uncaring about the prospects of citizen workers for job opportunities and adequate wages.  Neither Republican nor Democratic party leadership is working in the best interests of citizens, and both appear to cooperate in selling citizens short.  John Miano of the Center for Immigration Studies, details here their shocking conduct in pushing the Omnibus spending bill through with hidden giveaways to powerful, greedy businesses that have no regard for U.S. citizens’ well-being.
 
Oregon's Rep. Greg Walden voted to fund Obama's amnesty executive orders, the open border acceptance of Syrian refugees, continued funding for sanctuary cities and a quadrupling of the number of H 2-B low-skilled workers, from 66,000 to 264,000 this year.
 
Joining with Walden in passing this bill were Oregon’s Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici and Peter DeFazio. Voting against the bill: Rep. Kurt Schrader.  Thank you, Congressman Schrader.
-------------------------------------------------
Speaker Ryan's Unpersuasive Response on H-2B Visas 
By John Miano, Center for Immigration Studies, December 23, 2015
 
[Slightly condensed version:]
 
On Monday I was one of many to write about the travesty of Paul Ryan's corrupt business-as-usual-in-Washington budget bill [passed on Dec. 18]. Yesterday [Dec.22], Speaker Ryan responded to the critics, a response that shows how deprived of reality the leaders are in Congress.
 
The main area of contention is the changes to the H-2B visa program. (My colleague David North also addresses Ryan's assertions about the program.)
 
The speaker's response starts off with the heading, "And Nothing Was 'Slipped' into the Bill Either."
 
To which I have to ask, how stupid does Speaker Ryan think we are?
 
The increase in H-2B visa is located on page 701 of the budget bill, nestled between two appropriations, with no heading, and no mention of H-2B. Only the few people who know that 8 U.S.C. 1184(g) deals with visa quotas would have a clue reading this passage would know that this provision has nothing to do with appropriations:  …
 
This visa increase could not have been slipped into the bill any better.
 
The title of Speaker Ryan's post is "No, the Omnibus Doesn't Quadruple Visas for Foreign Workers." 
 
As I explained, the increase falls within a range of between doubling and quadrupling the visas available. I also explained why these numbers are theoretical and that an actual quadrupling is unlikely.
 
Speaker Ryan goes on to say that that the increase is "Only 8,000 Workers". In support of this he cites a letter from the director of the Congressional Budget Office (a letter written the same day as Ryan's posting), that states "8,000 additional workers would be in the United States" under this increase.
 
Again the speaker misses the point. If the intent of the provision is only to increase the number of workers by 8,000, why does not the bill simply state that it increases the number of workers by 8,000?
 
The answer is obvious: the bill is written that way so that, as I wrote before, "to make the actual size of the increases obscure and debatable."
 
The speaker said of the increase that it is "Only Temporarily." True enough, that increase is for only one year; does the speaker's assurance mean he'll make sure it's not renewed next year? In addition, the speaker did not mention the other H-2B provision designed to undermine the wages of H-2B workers, found at page 888. That provision is permanent. (I discuss it toward the end of Monday's posting.)
 
The speaker goes on to downplay the visa increase because "it was introduced as part of the base appropriations bill funding the Department of Homeland Security." Pray tell, Mr. Speaker, why was a provision to increase the number of H-2B guestworker visas approved by the Appropriations Committee – and not the Immigration Subcommittee – when it has nothing to do with appropriations?
 
Again, we all know the answer to that question: By giving lobbyists special access to the appropriations process, their pet provisions get slipped into the budget, where they will not be considered separately; once in a budget bill, such a provision is nearly certain to pass.
 
That Mr. Speaker, is corrupt government.
 
We might be able to understand if you said that you were new in the office, that you did not yet have firm control over the budget process, and that in the future you were going to put a stop to allowing special interests to get their pet provisions slipped into the massive budget.
 
But no, here you are defending the corrupt practices that Americans have become sick of. Mr. Speaker, by doubling down on corruption here, you have demonstrated that you epitomize the problem in Washington and are not part of the hoped-for solution.
 

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - legal immigration