national legislation

WASHINGTON—House Republican leaders are preparing to release a set of principles to guide a House immigration overhaul, including legal status for many of the 11 million people in the U.S. illegally, people familiar with the planning said.

This would represent the first time that the House GOP leadership has explicitly endorsed allowing illegal immigrants to remain and work in the U.S....

The one-page document is being developed by House Speaker John Boehner's office in conjunction with the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and others in the Republican House leadership. It contains few details but voices support for the major planks of the comprehensive bill that cleared the Senate last summer. That includes increased border security, stepped-up employment verification, a temporary worker program for low-skilled workers, more visas for high-technology workers and a path to citizenship for people brought to the U.S. illegally as children, according to two people who have seen a draft....

The document also expresses support for legal status for undocumented immigrants and envisions some sort of legal process by which they admit guilt and pay fines and any back taxes owed. It will also insist that no legalization provisions take effect until border security and other enforcement measures are in place, people familiar with the draft said.

Immigration advocates have pressed for citizenship, not just legalization, for those undocumented residents, saying that anything less would sentence them to permanent second-class status. Legislation that cleared the Senate last summer provides for a 13-year path to citizenship for those who meet qualifications.

Legislation is being developed by House Republicans that wouldn't exclude citizenship for those here illegally. But it rejects what many Republicans see as a "special path" not available to would-be immigrants who didn't break the law. Rather, after people win legal status they could apply for green cards, the same as any other legal immigrant.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.) has voiced support for such an approach for months. He signaled openness to legalization again in an interview that aired on Telemundo on Sunday....

The emerging GOP approach was welcomed by some immigration advocates, who have grown frustrated waiting for the House to act. Frank Sharry, who leads the influential advocacy group America's Voice, pointed out that it wasn't long ago when GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney proposed that the U.S. make life so miserable for illegal immigrants that they voluntarily "self-deport."...

It wasn't even clear when the House would hold its first immigration votes. Some have pointed to a window this spring, after the bulk of Republican primaries are over. Others have said it makes more sense to move more quickly. Read more about GOP Leaders Set to Embrace Legal Status for Immigrants

Several prominent amnesty advocates, including Mark Zuckerberg and top Obama administration officials, have argued that amnesty is a civil right. The claim is, of course, preposterous...

To say that amnesty is a civil right is to effectively declare to the world the right to enter the United States without permission, to bring one’s family, and to receive all of the financial benefits our nation provides. To say that one has a right to freely violate our immigration laws is to deny the very idea that a nation can establish enforceable borders.

Mr. Zuckerberg’s motivation is not elusive. He heads a lobbying group representing many of his industry’s wealthiest CEOs, and their companies wish to extract generous guest-worker programs from Congress....

The upside-down conception of rights increasingly articulated by amnesty activists would mean that when an illegal worker seeks a job sought or held by an American worker, the civil-rights equity is on the side of the illegal worker...

Republican officials reflexively collapse into a defensive posture, offering assurances that they will pass undefined “immigration reform” because we need to “fix our nation’s broken immigration system.” But does doubling the annual flow of immigrant workers fix a broken system, or make it dramatically worse? Is our goal just to do “something,” or to do the right thing?

— Jeff Sessions is the junior United States senator from Alabama and the ranking Republican member on the Senate Budget Committee. Read more about Crowding Out U.S. Workers

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi privately has urged the Obama administration to halt deportations for some illegal immigrants...

In an interview with Telemundo over the weekend, Mrs. Pelosi said that just being in the country illegally is not enough of a reason to be deported, and she said illegal immigrants must have something more serious on their records.

“Our view of the law is that it — if somebody is here without sufficient documentation, that is not reason for deportation,” she said in the interview... “If somebody has broken the law, committed a felony or something, that’s a different story.”

Federal law generally does say that those who are in the country without authorization — either because they jumped the border or have overstayed their visas — are deportable.

But Mr. Obama has claimed broad discretion to decide whom to deport out of the 11 million illegal immigrants estimated to be in the country, arguing that Congress only appropriated enough money to deport about 400,000 people a year and so he must pick and choose whom to deport.

Homeland Security officials argue that nearly all of those they deport do meet one of their priority categories of having a criminal record or having previously been deported and returned to the U.S. in violation of that removal.

In her interview with Telemundo, Mrs. Pelosi said she disputes that, saying she’s appeared alongside some of those she said shouldn’t have been deported.

...Still, Mrs. Pelosi said she is not sure whether Mr. Obama has the authority to grant a broad suspension of deportations for parents of so-called Dreamers, the illegal immigrants whom the president already carved out of danger of deportation in an executive action last year.

“I don’t know whether he has the authority,” Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, said. “But I think that there is discretion in the law as to the implementation, enforcement of the legislation that is calling for these deportations.” Read more about Pelosi calls for Obama to halt deportations

...Only 29% of Likely U.S. Voters think the government should stop deporting illegal immigrants until Congress passes an immigration reform plan...

Sixty percent (60%) believe the U.S. government is not aggressive enough now in deporting illegal immigrants. Fourteen percent (14%) say it is too aggressive, while 16% think the number of deportations is about right...

Just 19% of voters believe that those who are not in this country illegally should be granted legal status right away. Sixty-four percent (64%) say legalization should come only after the border is secured. Seventeen percent (17%) are not sure. These findings, too, haven’t changed in years...

Millions of people have entered the United States legally but then stayed longer than their visas allowed. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters think the federal government should find these people and make them leave the country...

 (To see survey question wording, click here.) Read more about 60% Think U.S. Not Aggressive Enough In Deporting Illegal Immigrants

Several members of Oregonians for Immigration Reform have received recently a letter from Sen. Ron Wyden giving his views on S.744 and immigration generally. The letter was sent by email on November 19, 2013.

Many of Sen. Wyden’s statements in the letter are either false or misleading. Below we have reproduced the text of his letter in bold font, and we have followed each paragraph with a correction or other response.

For more information on issues in S.744 and its House version, H.R. 1417, see References on Amnesty Bills on the OFIR website.

Here is the Senator’s letter, with OFIR's response indented under each of the Senator's statements.

Dear [Constituent]:

"Thank you for contacting me about immigration reform. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue."

"For too long, millions of immigrants have been living in America’s shadows, with more coming across our borders illegally every day." -- Sen. Wyden.

Senator Wyden, "Immigrants are living [illegally] in America’s shadows" and "more are coming across … illegally every day" because you and others in Congress and the government have refused to enforce the immigration laws. You have been in Congress continuously since 1981, a total of 32 years. What have you ever done to see that the immigration laws are enforced? Your record on immigration issues is graded F by NumbersUSA based on official records of your votes in Congress. The record is incontrovertible – you have failed to uphold the nation’s immigration laws. You have actually weakened them by repeatedly voting for amnesties and other benefits to illegal aliens, enticing more to come.

"Farmers are constantly telling me about their struggles to find a stable and legal workforce or face the real prospect of unharvested crops rotting in the fields." — Sen. Wyden.

You could tell them about the H-2A visa program which was set up to help agriculture get seasonal farm labor if it’s really needed. The truth is many employers prefer to hire illegal aliens because they profit from the substandard wages they can pay and the substandard working conditions they can use. Cheap labor can never be cheap enough to satisfy some employers. Most citizens would rather pay more for food and other goods and know that it doesn’t come at the expense of exploited workers and non-enforcement of immigration laws. Most citizens understand that good wages and working conditions are necessary for a strong democracy to survive.

"Bright, capable children, who were brought to the country through no fault of their own, are being denied the opportunity to contribute to and succeed in the only country they know as home." – Sen. Wyden.

The parents of children "brought to the country through no fault of their own" are responsible for their children’s plight, not U.S. citizens. It is not our obligation to give legal status to children because of their parents’ illegal entry. The entire family that is here illegally should return to the country where they are citizens and devote their "contributions" to making that country an acceptable place to live. Being with their families and others of their own country, "bright, capable children" can quickly accommodate themselves to that country.

"America’s story is intertwined with the story of immigration — my own parents emigrated from Nazi Germany, a story familiar to many of the folks who come to our shores seeking asylum. For these and many other reasons, I welcomed the debate on immigration." – Sen. Wyden.

Here again are the tugs at peoples’ heartstrings, the call to sentimentality, the implied idea that immigration is always good and desirable, without any restrictions or limits. In truth, immigration to the U.S. is supposed to serve the interests of citizens of the U.S., not the interests of foreign nationals. It is neither desirable nor feasible to maintain open borders.

"Comprehensive reform is long overdue, and an overwhelming majority of my Senate colleagues agreed. As you know, in June, the U.S. Senate passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744) with a bipartisan vote of 68-32. I voted in support of the measure.

"Only after I was convinced that strong, enforceable border security measures were in place did I start considering the immigration bill on its other merits."— Sen. Wyden.

Senator, if you were convinced that "strong, enforceable border security measures were in place" you either didn’t read the bill or you failed to understand it. It is worthless for improving border security and in some respects it weakens or displaces security processes that are now in place. http://cis.org/kephart/widening-existing-vulnerabilities-national-security-implications-s744-part-1

"S.744 requires DHS to submit a border security plan within 6 months that includes a goal ‘for achieving and maintaining effective control’ along the U.S.-Mexico border. (p.864). The bill defines effective control as: (1) ‘persistent surveillance’ and (2) an ‘effectiveness rate of 90 percent.’ (p.855) …

"… even if a 90 percent effectiveness rate were a reliable indication of border security, S.744 does not actually require that DHS reach a 90 percent effectiveness rate. S.744 requires DHS to submit a border security plan "for achieving and maintaining" a 90 percent effectiveness rate at the U.S.-Mexico border, but there is no requirement that DHS actually achieve this goal. (p.864, 854-855)" Thus, the goal of a 90 percent effectiveness rate is nothing more than a goal, one that will neither accurately depict whether the border is secure or one that must be met. …" – http://immigrationreform.com/2013/06/19/data-shows-border-security-metric-in-s-744-subject-to-political-manipulation/

"Specifically, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act hikes Border Patrol ranks by 20,000 — almost doubling the contingent and spends $4.5 billion on technical innovations intended to provide security personnel with full situational awareness along the southern border." – Sen. Wyden.

The 20,000 increase in Border Patrol ranks does not occur for years, if ever, after illegal aliens are granted what they and their supporters want – legal status in the U.S. which occurs immediately. "The bill grants amnesty (Registered Provisional Status) … before the first new Border Patrol agent is hired and virtually guarantees that the borders will never be secured because once illegal aliens have legal status, they and their supporters know that citizenship will eventually be granted whether the border is secured or not. … Even if 20,000 border agents are hired there is no assurance that they won’t be prevented from effectively controlling the border by elected officials who are beholden to lobbyists and big donors. …"

Regarding the $4.5 billion for technology: "This expenditure will in all likelihood be made since it is what the host to Bloomberg TV’s ‘Capitol Gains’ labeled a ‘pathway to profit for federal contractors’. However, the only requirement is that the strategy be fully implemented and activated. There is no requirement that it work as advertised or that it actually slows the flow of illegal aliens." – http://cis.org/mortensen/hoeven-corker-amendment-long-amnesty-short-everything-else

"It also implements an entry-exit visa program to keep tabs on visitors who overextend their stay and expands the E-Verify program to make employers aware of a potential worker’s immigration status. These are serious, extensive, and effective steps that will curtail much of the illegal immigration that has plagued our country for so long." – Sen. Wyden.

"Congress has mandated a visa entry/exit system for years; however, nothing has been done. What guarantee is there that it will be done this time? Can the federal government be trusted to do what it says? …

"The Hoeven-Corker amendment to S.744 delays the full use of E-Verify for years while allowing illegal aliens to get RPI status almost immediately. During that time, employers will be free to hire a new wave of illegal aliens rather than employing RPIs, legal immigrants, or American citizens who will demand higher wages and benefits." – http://cis.org/mortensen/hoeven-corker-amendment-long-amnesty-short-everything-else

"The bill the Senate voted on also overcomes one of the greatest challenges we have had in the past — that is creating a path to citizenship for the 11 million people who are working here illegally but have broken no other laws. Immigrants are an important and positive influence on the American economy, and while earning citizenship will be far from easy or quick; with the enactment of the Senate bill, it will be possible." – Sen. Wyden.

There have been 7 mass amnesties passed by Congress since 1986, each one resulting in ever increasing illegal immigration. Another amnesty will only trigger additional illegal immigration. S.744 makes it easy and almost automatic for illegal immigrants to get legal status; your statement that "earning citizenship will be far from easy or quick" is a total misrepresentation.

"I had concerns with the Senate bill — from its detrimental environmental provisions to an imperfect path to legalization, but we didn’t have the option to vote between a perfect bill and the status quo; the choice was between the Senate compromise bill and the status quo." – Sen. Wyden.

Did you even read the bill before it was voted on? It was over 1,000 pages and Senators were given only a few hours to peruse it before a vote was called. You voted for a bill full of holes for evasion and fraud, one that in nearly all ways would be extremely harmful to this country.

"And I think the majority of Americans would agree that the status quo cannot stand." – Sen. Wyden.

No, polls show that when the bill’s provisions are truthfully explained to voters they would choose no action rather than the harmful measures in S.744.

From Pulse Opinion poll of August 2013: "60% of likely voters oppose the Senate bill’s proposal to increase the number of green cards for new immigrants to 20 million over the next decade. Only 28% of respondents supported such measures.

"Three-quarters of those surveyed said there are more than enough unemployed Americans with lower levels of education to fill the jobs that would go to millions of new immigrants under the Senate bill. Only 17% said foreign workers are needed to fill labor shortages.

"A solid majority of voters are worried about the impact of immigration reform, which could put millions of illegal aliens on a path to citizenship and create large guest-workers programs, will have on the labor market."

-- https://www.numbersusa.com/content/polls.html

From a Rasmussen poll of likely voters, October 22, 2013:

"Only 25% think it is even somewhat likely that the federal government will secure the border and prevent illegal immigration with new immigration legislation; 65% consider it unlikely.

"Only 18% think illegal aliens should be given immediate amnesty; 62% believe legalization should occur only after the border is secured, and 19% are unsure.

-- http://www.fairus.org/facts/illegal-immigration-and-amnesty-polls

"It is now up to the House to pass a bill. It’s important to remember that it’s not only good policy, but that it’s also in the long term economic interest of America for both houses of Congress to get together and send a good, bipartisan bill to the President to sign into law." – Sen. Wyden.

The House leadership proposes to work on smaller bills addressing particular components of immigration policy. This is the most sensible way to address current problems. Immigration is a serious subject with many different aspects, too many to be covered effectively in one mammoth bill such as S.744.

"Again, thank you for keeping me apprised of the issues that are important to you. If I may be of assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me." — Sen. Wyden.

Sen. Wyden, you make no mention of one of the most damaging features of S.744, the doubling of legal immigration and the huge expansion of visas for foreign workers. These features would make our unemployment problem far worse. Oregon’s U-6 unemployment rate is 16.5%, the 3d highest in the nation. You betray your constituency by working for benefits to illegal aliens and other would-be immigrants and their employers when our nation is overcrowded already, wages are falling, and millions don’t have jobs at all or are stuck in jobs that pay very low wages with no prospect for anything better. Citizens rightfully expect their Congresspersons to put the interests of citizens and this nation first, before the interests of foreign nationals and their employers.

### Read more about Sen. Wyden misrepresents amnesty proposals to constituents

Writing in the November 15 issue of ComputerWorld, Patrick Thibodeau reminds us of the plight of today’s college graduates who have obtained pricey degrees in technical fields, but have become burdened with tuition debt while trying to compete in a tight job market with the estimated 650,000 foreign workers already here under H-1B visas.

Things could get worse under the Senate immigration reform bill, which calls for increasing the current annual H-1B visa cap of 65,000 to about 180,000...

Ironically, with an anemic economy and a stubborn unemployment rate of 7 percent, the nation’s blue chip companies continue to lobby for more H-1B visas at a time when many are shedding headcount to cut costs.

Last quarter, Cisco laid off 4,000 people, bringing its two-year total layoffs to 12,000. HP just completed a plan announced in 2012 to cut 9,000 American jobs. Pharmaceutical giant Merck announced it will cut 8,500 more jobs, bringing the total number to 16,000...

Mass layoffs are typically justified in terms of restructuring to meet changing market needs, retooling for the next phase of innovation, or remaining competitive in an increasingly dynamic industry. But there’s more to it than this. These goals can be achieved in large part by replacing American workers with foreign workers who will do more for less and not complain about it.

In September, IBM agreed to settle a claim with the Justice Department that its job listings for almost four years expressed a preference for foreign workers with temporary visas over U.S. citizens. According to one HR manager at the company, the cost difference is too great for IBM not to look for foreign workers first. Many firms routinely violate the “citizens-first” hiring rule, but because they are hit with paltry fines if caught, it is easy to dismiss them as a cost of doing business.

Tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Cisco are among the many companies awash in cash, yet claim to need more foreign workers to stay on life support. If corporate profits are any measure, this line of reasoning falls squarely into the category of pure blather. The SP500 companies are sitting on a cash pile of $1.3 trillion.

Apple is widely hailed as the world leader in innovation. It has accumulated a cash hoard of $147 billion, which equates to nearly 10% of all corporate cash held by non-financial companies, according to Moody’s. Google pales in comparison with only $56 billion cash on hand and Facebook with $10 billion. All three companies are key players in petitioning Congress to lift the H-1B visa cap, as if they faced imminent extinction without a drip infusion of foreign workers.

The prospect of a big increase in H-1B visas could have serious consequences for American students and society...

Under the H-1B program, companies are allowed to pay foreign workers less than American citizens. When a company sees its competitors doing this, they have little choice but to follow suit to lower their own operating costs. This situation lowers wages across the board, making it difficult for American graduates to compete for jobs, pay down tuition loans, buy homes and raise families. With an uncertain job future in technical fields, high school students have good reason to think twice about pursuing expensive university degrees in preparation for jobs they are not likely to get.

In the ComputerWorld article, Karen Panetta, IEEE-USA Vice President for Communications and Public Awareness, and a professor of electrical engineering at Tufts University, warned that the cost of tuition in the U.S. is so unrealistically prohibitive that a class shift is underway. “The really wealthy are the only ones who can afford to send their kids to school,” she said. With her students owing $50,000 on average, “It’s the house you are not going to be able to buy for another 10 years.”

Also reported in ComputerWorld, Hal Salzman, a professor of public policy at Rutgers University, noted that the U.S. produces enough graduates to satisfy the demands of the labor market. But if the H-1B visa cap increase goes through, he sees a market that will be flooded with workers, with people under age 30 being especially hard hit by the increased job competition.

As the Wall Street Journal noted in its October 23 editorial, “With total employment at 144.3 million, for every three Americans over the age of 16 earning a paycheck there are two who aren’t even looking for a job. That’s an ugly portent for American prosperity.”

It’s hard to fathom how an annual influx of ever greater numbers of foreign workers will improve on this dire situation. It may very well accelerate the decline in workforce participation and increase dependence on the expanding array of government benefits as a substitute for work – both of which may trigger unforeseen consequences, including societal turbulence, followed by remedies we may prefer not to think about.

Read the full article. Read more about Today’s Grads Face Mounting Pressure From Foreign Tech Workers

Barely a week after he said the House will not go to conference with the 1,300 page Senate amnesty bill, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) renewed his commitment to passing “immigration reform,” a term commonly used to mean amnesty for the country’s 11-12 million illegal aliens.

“The only way to make sure immigration reform works this time is to address these complicated issues one step at a time,” said the Speaker at a press conference Thursday. (See Bloomberg Government Transcript, Nov. 21, 2013) “I think doing so will give the American people confidence that we're dealing with these issues in a thoughtful way and a deliberative way. So I’m hopeful we can make progress on this very important issue,” he continued. (Id.)

In fact, when asked whether immigration reform was dead, the Speaker replied, “Absolutely not. I have made clear, going back to the day after the last election in 2012 that it was time for Congress to deal with this issue. I believe that Congress needs to deal with this issue.” (See Bloomberg Government Transcript, Nov. 21, 2013)

Speaker Boehner also signaled that several House Republicans are continuing to work behind the scenes on a plan to pass immigration reform. “There are a lot of private conversations that are underway to try to figure out, how do we best move on a common-sense, step-by-step basis to address this very important issue…because it is a very important issue.” (Id.) Similarly, during his press conference the previous week, Boehner told reporters that House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) — whose committee has jurisdiction over the immigration issue — was working on “principles” for the chamber to follow in pursuing immigration reform in the coming year. (Roll Call, Nov. 13, 2013)

The Speaker’s recent comments make clear that amnesty and mass immigration proposals are far from “dead” in the House this coming year. To be sure, passing immigration bills piecemeal—rather than in one comprehensive bill such as in the Senate—still gives GOP leaders room to push for amnesty legislation or massive increases in foreign workers. In reality, depending on the path Leadership takes, the House approach, even if it is more transparent, could still have the same result as the Senate’s 1,000+ page bill.

Indeed, even House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has acknowledged that the House’s piecemeal bills are intended to fit together in a comprehensive manner. Last week in a heated exchange with Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) on the chamber floor Cantor said, “These [immigration bills] all fit into a larger puzzle,” he said. (See Congressional Record, Nov. 15, 2013, p.H7147)

Increasing the cause for concern, President Obama has given the GOP leaders his stamp of approval in taking this approach to achieving “comprehensive” immigration reform. “[House Republicans are] suspicious of comprehensive bills,” Obama said at a Wall Street Journal CEO summit. “But you know what? If they want to chop that thing up into five pieces, as long as all five pieces get done, I don't care what it looks like.” (AFP, Nov. 19, 2013) Read more about Speaker Boehner: Immigration Reform Not Dead