Republicans Kick-Off Lame Duck with Immigration Bill--amnesty

By Frosty Wooldridge

The downtrodden Republicans attempt to pull their hands out of the immigration fire in the current lame duck session of congress.  But their actions hurt American workers and will do nothing to bring them the cherished Hispanic votes.

Expanding Green Cards for STEM Grads Hurts American Students, Workers

Dan Stein, president of The Federation for American Immigration Reform, www.FAIRUS.org, spoke about it the Republican dilemma.

“This week Congressmen will likely consider the first piece of post-election immigration legislation,” said Stein.  “Led by outgoing House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), House Republican leadership is pushing HR 6429 which will:

• Grant 55,000 green cards to foreign PhD and Master’s graduates of U.S. universities in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, thus flooding the high tech field and impose more competition on American workers.
• Eliminate the diversity lottery which grants 55,000 green cards by random selection

“And, the newer version of the bill now adds a sweetener for Democrats – bringing back the V visa to allow the spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents to come to the U.S. before their green cards are approved,” said Stein. “While this new provision would prohibit V visa holders from working in the U.S., it accelerates immigration dramatically by circumventing wait-lists requiring petitioners to wait outside of the country to receive a green card before entering.

“Ultimately, this bill does little to benefit Americans – which should be the purpose of our immigration policy. Shifting green cards to one sector only benefits the immigrants and the universities and companies that wish to attract them. American students are facing a dismal job market and would be subject to even more competition for admissions and jobs in the STEM fields under this legislation. STEM fields would also become less and less attractive and accessible to American students, turning the domestic skills shortage myth into a reality.

“The U.S. needs an immigration system that works in the national interest. Skills based immigration is a must however it should not come at the cost of opportunities for American students and workers. A rational, affordable overhaul of immigration should include labor certification requirements – that can’t be waived – and an end to massive chain migration.

“The House could vote on HR 6429 as early as Wednesday. Its prospects in the Senate are unknown. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sets the agenda and may want to hold onto the diversity visa lottery as a bargaining chip for next session’s amnesty negotiations.”

5 Reasons Republicans Will Self-Destruct if They Support Amnesty

Stein continued, “Henry Louis Mencken once observed that for, “every problem there is a solution which is simple, clean and wrong.” In the aftermath of their election shellacking, Republicans are coalescing around the notion that illegal alien amnesty legislation is a necessary step that solves their problems. In fact, such action would only erode the GOP base, and empower Democrats.”

Party will Split. Polls show most Republican voters favor enforcement over amnesty. Core conservatives will reject any amnesty agenda fueled by the business wing of the GOP and lose faith in a party that is compromising their rule-of-law values. Given that 17 percent of self-identified conservatives voted for Obama in the recent election the lesson is – win back your party faithful first before you begin pandering to immigrant voters.

American Workers will Rebel. Bush-McCain-Kennedy couldn’t get amnesty passed in 2007 when the unemployment was 4.5 percent. Now that the unemployment rate has grown to 7.9 percent, it will be nearly impossible to convince Americans that amnesty offers them anything except more competition for jobs and a tougher scramble for limited community resources. Workers will wonder whose interests Republicans really have at heart.

Republicans will get no Credit. No matter how well intentioned the GOP might be heading into a bi-partisan negotiating session to enact amnesty legislation, past politics dictate that Democrats will take credit and accuse Republicans of being obstructionists. Republicans lose even if a bill wins.

Democrats will get 12 Million New Voters. Since this is one critical area that seems to elude Republicans the most, we’ll lay it out in the simplest possible terms:

Fact One:       Most low income people don’t vote for Republicans.

Fact Two:       Most illegal aliens are low income because they’re poorly skilled.

Fact Three:      An amnesty would not change that but it would make 12 million illegal aliens legally eligible for needed government benefits and thus, predisposed to vote for the party of big government.

Fact Four:        Republicans go the way of Kodak and Twinkies.       

Amnesty Will Lead to More Amnesty

“Legalization for 12 million illegal aliens would send a message worldwide that periodic amnesty is the de facto American immigration policy, creating a powerful incentive for further flows and future amnesties,” said Stein.

Dan Stein may be contacted at www.Fairus.org

Frosty Wooldridge is a member of the board of directors at FAIR.

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