economy

ATTN: Yamhill, Clatsop and Columbia counties - Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Suzanne Bonamici will hold joint town halls soon.

According to a press release from Rep. Bonamici’s office, “They will update constituents on their work in Washington, DC and answer questions and invite suggestions about how to tackle the challenges facing Oregon and America.”

OFIR members, please attend if you can, and ask questions or make comments.  Below the schedule, we include suggestions for subjects to be discussed.

What: Joint town hall in Yamhill County

When: Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 3:30 pm

Where: PCC Newberg Center, Room 115 and 116, 135 Werth Blvd., Newberg, OR 97132

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What: Joint town hall in Clatsop County

When:  Friday, April 3, 2015, 10:00 am

Where:  Cannon Beach Chamber Community Hall, 207 N Spruce, Cannon Beach, OR 97110

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What:  Joint town hall in Columbia County

When: Friday, April 3, 2015, 2:00 pm

Where: Vernonia High School Commons, 1000 Missouri Avenue, Vernonia, OR 97064


1.  Talking point suggested by NumbersUSA:

Rep. Bonamici and Sen. Merkley, I am disappointed that you voted to fund the President's executive amnesties. These programs are not only unconstitutional, but will directly harm American workers by providing work permits and social security cards to over 5 million illegal aliens.

2.  Talking point suggested by NumbersUSA:

Rep. Bonamici, Please co-sponsor the following:

The Mulvaney Resolution declaring Obama’s amnesties illegal (H.Con.Res.28)

Rep. Gowdy’s interior enforcement bill (H.R. 1148)

The Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 1147)

Rep. Chaffetz’s asylum reform bill (H.R. 1153)

Protection of Children Act (H.R. 1149)

The Birthright Citizenship Act (H.R. 140)

3.  Other suggestions:

for Sen. Merkley:  Your voting record on reduction of unnecessary worker visas for foreign nationals is F- over your time in the Senate, from 2009-2015.  Citizens are being passed over for jobs in favor of lower-paid foreign workers, in STEM occupations and elsewhere, by companies that exploit weaknesses in the visa programs.  (See herehere and here.)

for Rep. Bonamici:  Your voting record on reduction of unnecessary worker visas for foreign nationals is F- over your time in Congress, from 2012-2015.  Citizens are being passed over for jobs in favor of lower-paid foreign workers, in STEM occupations and elsewhere, by companies that exploit weaknesses in the visa programs.  (See herehere and here.)

for both Sen. Merkley and Rep. Bonamici: 

4.  There have been 7 major amnesties passed by Congress from 1986 to 2000, each resulting in ever-increasing numbers of illegal immigrants. Now more, even larger amnesties are being pushed. We need enforcement of the immigration laws, not more amnesties. 

5.  Did you know that between the Censuses of 2000 and 2010, 80% of population growth resulted from immigration (immigrants plus the children of immigrants). The U.S. is already overcrowded.  After more than 4 decades of unprecedentedly high immigration, we need a pause, a moratorium on immigration, or we face a steep decline in the quality of life for everyone. If you are truly concerned about our environment, you should work for major reductions in immigration. Read more about ATTN: Yamhill, Clatsop and Columbia counties - Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Suzanne Bonamici will hold joint town halls soon.

Wall Street Set to Cash-In on Obama Amnesty

Last week IRS Commissioner John Koskinen testified before Congress that illegal aliens who benefit from the Obama amnesty will also be in line to collect money from the Treasury in the form of retroactive Earned Income Tax Credits.

Guess who else is getting on the amnesty gravy train? According to a report by the McClatchy News Service, Wall Street is set to cash-in on what long-time open borders advocate Frank Sharry describes as “the biggest (immigration) program they’ve ever had to implement” (not to mention an unconstitutional one as well). McClatchy reports that big processing contracts to handle to flood of applications are now being passed out. “It starts with the banking firm of J.P. Morgan Chase, which will be paid to open envelopes, scan applications and deposit checks at centers in Dallas and Phoenix,” states the report.

This should not come as a big surprise. After all, big business interests have invested millions of lobbying dollars in the effort to gain amnesty for illegal aliens and flood the already saturated U.S. labor market.

The McClathchy report also should put to rest any notion that the Obama amnesty will be anything other than a massive rubberstamping operation. The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), whose former vice president is Obama’s chief domestic policy advisor, is demanding that the approval process be expedited in order to convince as many illegal alien as possible to step forward and take advantage of the program. “If it takes six months for anybody to get approved, that’s going to affect participation,” said Charles Kamasaki of NCLR. “If they are getting approvals in two to three months, then the skeptics are more likely to come forward.” Under this administration, what NCLR wants, NCLR generally gets…and so does J.P. Morgan Chase.

Read more about Wall Street Set to Cash-In on Obama Amnesty

D.A.King weighs in on GOP's amnesty plans

D.A. King is a nationally recognized authority on immigration and president of the Georgia-based, pro-enforcement immigration watchdog group, the Dustin Inman Society.  Read his letter to the editor about the GOP's plan to keep their heads down as President Obama's amnesty scheme washes over us.

D.A. King is an endorser for the Protect Oregon Driver Licenses campaign.  We are proud to have him be a part of our campaign!
  Read more about D.A.King weighs in on GOP's amnesty plans

Invitation to Participate in a Tele-Town Hall on July 28, 2014 at 6:00 PM PDT

Alert date: 
July 25, 2014
Alert body: 
Representative Kurt Schrader will hold a “tele-town hall” on July 28 at 6 pm. This is an opportunity to tell him how important it is to stop the current surge of illegal immigration at the southern border. Pres. Obama is not enforcing immigration law; on the contrary he is accommodating the illegal alien surge, claiming most are unaccompanied children, and spending large sums of public funds to care for the illegal entrants. This is outrageous, especially at a time when so many citizens are in need of jobs and living wages.
 
Tell Rep. Schrader that Border Patrol statistics found buried on a government website confirm that most of the Central American illegal aliens apprehended in the recent surge are not unaccompanied children, but are family units. Less than one-fourth (22 percent) of all those apprehended are unaccompanied alien children (UACs) from Central America.
 
These “children” are not being trafficked; they are being smuggled. Claiming that the anti-trafficking law necessitates our treating them differently is wrong.
 
Our country desperately needs true immigration law enforcement. Otherwise, we will be overwhelmed by illegal immigrants from all over the world. We are in danger of losing our sovereignty and our nation.

PODL endorser Michael Cutler on Immigration "Reform": Engineered Destruction of the Middle Class

Periodically so-called “buzz words” and “buzz phrases” become fashionable. Of late, the concept of “wage equality” has been bandied about by members of the administration, politicians and some media personalities...

Before we consider the words many politicians use, we would be wise to consider two important quotes from George Orwell, the author of “1984” and other significant literary works.

“Political language – and with variations this is true of all political parties from Conservatives to Anarchists – is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”

“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

Having been forewarned let us now consider the definition of “equality.”...

In short, equality has taken on the cloak of being, as the saying goes, “As American as apple pie.” Simply uttering the word “equality” evokes the emotional image of an American flag billowing in a gentle breeze with a clear blue sky serving as a backdrop.

Obviously if “equality” is good, “inequality” is bad. In most situations this is certainly true.

...when Obama and other politicians, as well as talk show hosts, bring up wage inequality, they don’t ever discuss whose salaries will be used as the baseline against which paychecks should be compared as efforts are made to eliminate or reduce wage inequality...

... the true goal of reducing wage inequality, the engineered destruction of America’s middle class.

The American Dream is inextricably linked to a vibrant and upwardly mobile middle class. The incentives for the creation of the middle class are created by an element of wage inequality. If this is confusing, consider that it is expected that generally, more highly skilled or educated workers should expect to earn more money than their lesser educated or skilled counterparts in the workforce.

This makes perfect sense and has, for generations, provided a strong incentive for American students, spurring them on to remain in school to obtain college degrees and even graduate degrees. This is why most people think of the money, time and effort expended in pursuit of advanced degrees or enhanced skills as an important investment in their futures. You could say that this is a case of “learn more to earn more.”...

On May 15, 2007 a four-minute infuriating video was aired on “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on CNN. It features an immigration lawyer’s conference in which lawyers were being coached to not find qualified U.S. workers!” The lecturer is identified in the video as being Lawrence M. Lebowitz, the Vice President of Marketing for the firm of Cohen & Grigsby.

The Winter 2014 edition of the quarterly journal, “The Social Contract” published my extensive article on the devastating impact that Comprehensive Immigration Reform would have on the middle class and on the economy of the United States. My article was entitled: “American Dream Being Sold at Auction – America’s Middle Class to Be Put on Endangered Species List”

...While it is obvious that employers who hire illegal aliens or who game the system to bring in foreign workers with visas that enable them to work in the United States for wages that are far lower than those Americans would be paid, there are others whose ability to profit financially and/or acquire political power might not be so readily apparent.

The list of these profiteers includes banks and money remitters who become the silent partner of every person who moves money from the United States to foreign countries. It includes immigration attorneys who not only represent aliens but employers who seek to hire foreign workers. Labor unions looking for more members, which translates into more union dues and more political leverage, are certainly on board with this concept, as are the National Chamber of Commerce and many but not all local Chambers of Commerce. Schools are eager to bring in foreign students and at present the GAO estimates that there are some 10,000 schools that are authorized to file the appropriate applications to enable foreign students to come to the United States.

The list goes on — but I think you get the point.

Facilitating the entry of still more foreign workers and more foreign students would create still more devastation for American workers and their families but would greatly increase the wealth of the super wealthy who are at the absolute top of the economic food chain in America...

The infamous bank robber, Willie Sutton, when asked why he robbed banks said simply, “That’s where the money is!” Today CEO’s seek to find employees oversees in Third World countries because that where the cheap labor is...

Most people equate Comprehensive Immigration Reform with a massive amnesty for unknown millions of illegal aliens who have violated America’s borders and immigration laws that are supposed to protect American lives and the jobs of American workers, thereby creating a national security nightmare.

What is generally not known is that among the provisions of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, the legislative betrayal of American citizens, is that it would provide for a huge increase in the number of H-1B visas for high tech workers and a provision that would, for the very first time, permit the spouses and adult children of H-1B visa holders to be granted Employment Authorization Documents (EAD’s) that would give these nonimmigrant family members as much right to any job as an American worker.

Greenspan said that American workers should no longer be shielded from foreign competition. This is a key area of “reform” that this legislation would deliver. Under the current immigration laws, Title 8 U.S. Code § 1182: (Inadmissible Aliens) enumerates various categories of aliens who are to be prevented from entering the U.S. The list of excludible classes of aliens includes aliens who suffer dangerous communicable diseases, severe mental illness, fugitives from justice, aliens who are convicted felons, spies, terrorists, war criminals, human rights violators, and others whose presence would undermine national security and/or public safety...

The Daily Caller’s article, “Zuckerberg’s lobby group announces hackathon with illegal immigrants,” focused on a unique program created by Zuckerberg and his Silicon Valley cohorts to provide opportunities expressly for illegal aliens....

Why could not this incredible opportunity have been provided to American children — perhaps especially those living in poverty? It is reported that some 25% of all American children now live below the poverty line. Many of these children are members of America’s minority communities.

Why not provide such opportunities to returning battle-weary and/or wounded members of the U.S. military?...

With all of the frustration so many Americans now justifiably feel about their representation (or lack thereof) by the administration and by Congress, it is essential to note that one of the implacable stalwart champions and defenders of American workers and their families is Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama...

I would argue that all of America’s national debt could be eliminated by effective immigration law enforcement coupled with “going back to the future” by making certain that American Citizens be provided with a world class education and preference in the workforce. This is how the “Greatest Generation” built America’s Middle Class and with it, the American Dream.

Read the full article for the more complete picture and many more sources and references.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Michael Cutler is a retired Senior Special Agent of the former INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) whose career spanned some 30 years. He served as an Immigration Inspector, Immigration Adjudications Officer and spent 26 years as an agent who rotated through all of the squads within the Investigations Branch. For half of his career he was assigned to the Drug Task Force. He has testified before well over a dozen congressional hearings, provided testimony to the 9/11 Commission as well as state legislative hearings around the United States and at trials where immigration is at issue. He hosts his radio show, “The Michael Cutler Hour,” on Friday evenings on BlogTalk Radio. His personal website is http://michaelcutler.net/. Read more about PODL endorser Michael Cutler on Immigration "Reform": Engineered Destruction of the Middle Class

Plucking your heartstrings? Connecting the dots on the border surge

If you are a casual observer, but truly concerned about the recent surge of children on our border, I urge you to watch this video and learn what's really behind it.

As a nation, we are up to our necks in a complicated scheme to transform the United States and the world.  A covert plan for global economic warfare -- those building up the world of globalization are tearing down the sovereignty and financial strength of the United States and Europe to make way for the coming corporate new world order.

It's chilling!
  Read more about Plucking your heartstrings? Connecting the dots on the border surge

Senator speaks with forked tongue

Senator Merkley is exposed for what he really stands for in this outstanding letter to the editor written by one of OFIR's founders Elizabeth VanStaaveren.

Please read the letter and then leave a comment of support if you agree.

 


  Read more about Senator speaks with forked tongue

Open borders, anyone?

by Elizabeth Van Staaveren

In Thomas Stewart’s opinion piece, “The influx of people has a long, rich history,” (Oregonian, 4/6), we hear the voice of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce loud and clear, a voice that is always calling for more and more cheap labor.  To sensible citizens, this sales talk for open borders falls flat.
 
First, the U.S. has not “always been a nation of immigrants.”  It was founded by colonists almost entirely from England and the British Isles at a time when “immigrant” was a word in little use.  They were colonists, not immigrants; there was no nation here in the usual sense of the word.  For many years after the U.S. became a nation, “immigration” was negligible. 
 
We’ve been blessed with many wonderful immigrants who have contributed much to advance the U.S.  In recent years, however, for each immigrant founder of a Fortune 500 company, there probably are a million or more other immigrants who simply add to the population.
 
Stewart argues for keeping immigrant Ph.D. holders, but why shouldn’t they return to their own countries and devote their talents to improving the quality of life of their fellow citizens?  That would be a good thing.  We should expect them to use their knowledge to help their own countries and in their own countries.
 
U.S. citizens don’t object to limited numbers of immigrants. and we welcome those who truly contribute unusual abilities not found here.  Nor do we object to giving safe harbor to a fair share of the world’s bona fide refugees.  We do object to huge numbers of unskilled immigrants.  This country already has more than enough people to do unskilled labor.  It’s a fact that recent high immigration levels have already depressed wages and income, especially among the most vulnerable populations of citizens who do unskilled labor.  Joblessness is shockingly high and many people have been out of work for more than a year. 
 
Our visa system is riddled with fraud, in all categories, but especially in the H-1B group.  It has allowed companies to fire citizens and replace them with foreign workers that are kept in a kind of indentured servitude, paid less than American wages, and made afraid to complain.
 
There has not been adequate immigration law enforcement for many decades.  At this point, the most humane step would be to make E-Verify mandatory for all employers, for both new hires and current work forces.  E-Verify, the federal program that now enables employers to check the legal status of new hires, is accurate, despite false accusations made against it.  It is ready for expansion.  Over half a million honest, patriotic employers use it voluntarily, like it, give it high marks.
 
We should have another amnesty, Mr. Stewart?  No!  Seven amnesties have been enacted in Congress beginning in 1986, each one only resulting in more waves of illegal immigration.  Any proposal giving legalization of any sort to illegal aliens is amnesty and is wrong morally, economically, and socially.
 
There is not, as Stewart blithely claims, an unlimited capacity of this or any other country to absorb immigrants.  The U.S. is overpopulated now.  Our natural environment is in tatters from too many people.  Based on Census figures, the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that 80.4% of population growth between 2000 and 2010 was due to immigration (immigrants and children of immigrants.)  We need to reduce population by setting a moratorium on immigration for an extended period.
 
No nation can retain sovereignty without controlling its territorial borders and immigration into the country – witness Ukraine.
 

Still no evidence of a labor shortage

News release
 
WASHINGTON, DC (March 13, 2014) — Congress is currently considering immigration reform packages that include work permits for those in the country illegally, as well as substantial increases in future legal immigration. Many in Congress argue that the country needs more workers. Yet a new analysis of government employment data by the Center for Immigration Studies shows an enormous number of working-age Americans not employed, particularly those with modest levels of education who are among the poorest Americans.
 
“There is a profound disconnect between what Washington is doing on immigration, and what is actually happening in the U.S. labor market,” said Dr. Steven Camarota, CIS Director of Research. “Across the labor market the employment situation remains dismal, with the percentage of working-age Americans not working at a record high. Yet the Senate passed a bill that gives work permits to millions of illegal immigrants and also doubles the number of foreign workers allowed into the country.”
 
 
Among the findings:
 
• The share of working-age (18 to 65) natives holding a job has not recovered from the Great Recession. In the fourth quarter of 2013, 31 percent were not working, something that has barely improved in the last five years.
 
• In the fourth quarter of 2013, there were only two working-age natives holding a job for every one that was not employed. This represents a huge deterioration. As recently as 2000, there were three working-age adults holding a job for every one not working.
 
• The total number of native-born working-age adults (18 to 65) of any education level not working (unemployed or out of the labor force) was 50.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 — 8.8 million more than in the fourth quarter of 2007, and 14.7 million more than in the same quarter of 2000.
 
• Looking at the less-educated, only 38 percent of working-age adult natives who have not completed high school were employed in the fourth quarter of 2013. Back in the fourth quarter of 2000, 52 percent of these natives had a job.
 
• Even among adults who had completed high school, but had no additional schooling, just 65 percent had a job at the end of 2013. Back in the fourth quarter of 2000, 74 percent worked.
 
• Some of those not working do not wish to work, but looking at the broad measure of unemployment (referred to as U-6) shows that unemployment was 28.7 percent for native-born adults who have not completed high school and 16.5 percent for those with only a high school education. The U-6 measure includes those who want to work, but have not looked recently, and those forced to work part-time.
 
 

"Generation Jobless" Could Become "Generation Hopeless" Under Pending Immigration Legislation

A new report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) finds that younger American workers, also known as the Millennial Generation, are being disproportionally harmed by mass immigration. Generation Jobless: The Unemployment Crisis of Millennials finds that excessively high levels of immigration have become a significant impediment to younger workers gaining a foothold in the labor market. The phenomenon has adversely affecting both lesser skilled youth as well as those with college educations or higher.

The crisis facing the Millennial Generation may be compounded if the House of Representatives follows the lead of the Senate and enacts immigration reform legislation that makes some 12 million illegal aliens eligible to compete legally for every job in the U.S., and doubles the annual intake of new immigration, warns the report.

"One of the main factors contributing to the bleak employment situation faced by American workers, especially those just starting out in their careers, are high levels of immigration," noted Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "It's a plain fact that the U.S. working-age population is increasing faster than jobs are being created, and many new jobs are not well-paying career opportunities. Anyone who is serious about helping young people get a leg up in this economy cannot support immigration policies that put Millennials at a disadvantage," said Stein.

"Lower skilled youth — those who have a high school degree or less — find themselves competing with illegal aliens and poorly skilled legal immigrants who are arriving in large numbers under family chain migration policies. Better skilled Millennials — those who have invested significant money and time in training for what they were told were the 'careers of the future' — are confronted with the reality that employers can take advantage of guest workers and foreign graduates of U.S. universities to fill jobs. Increasingly, Millennials are finding that the doors to opportunity are closed to them," said Stein.

Among the key findings of Generation Jobless:

  • Half of unemployed workers in October 2013 were Millennials between the ages of 18 and 34.
  • 39 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds were not in the labor force in 2012.
  • There was an increase of 2.6 million Americans aged 16-34 between 2007 and 2012. During that same time span, the number of employed Americans 16-34 decreased by 2.9 million.
  • U.S.-born Hispanic Millennials of all education levels are the cohort most adversely affected by competition from foreign workers.
  • 32 percent of Millennials, 21.6 million people, were living with their parents in 2012.

"American immigration policies are betraying our young people," Stein charged. "There isn't much we as a nation can do to mitigate the impact of globalization or mechanization on kids entering the labor force. But there are things we can do to make sure that they get a fair shot at the jobs that are available, like limiting the number of foreign workers who have access to our labor market and enforcing laws against illegal immigration.

"Instead, our leaders are doing precisely the opposite. Congress, at the urging of corporate interests, is considering granting amnesty to illegal aliens and vastly expanding the number of foreign workers who would be admitted to our country. Doing so would turn 'Generation Jobless' into 'Generation Hopeless,'" concluded Stein. Read more about "Generation Jobless" Could Become "Generation Hopeless" Under Pending Immigration Legislation

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