A grassroots immigration organization is calling for a time-out on worker immigration in light of the poor condition of the U.S. economy.

The combination of toughening workplace enforcement through an electronic program known as E-Verify and barring legalization could force illegal immigrants to "self deport," restrictionists say.

"There are 6 million illegal aliens holding jobs in construction, services and manufacturing," said Roy Beck, director of Numbers USA, an immigration reduction organization. "If you have mandatory E-Verify ... and you make it impossible for illegal immigrants to keep those jobs, then you get 6 million jobs that have opened up for the country's 10 million unemployed workers."

Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, a policy group that seeks to reduce immigration, criticized Napolitano, saying she supports “amnesty” for illegal immigrants, though he still praised her efforts in taking steps to “secure the border.” In what may be a signal that Napolitano could face tough questioning from Republicans, many Numbers USA members harshly criticized Beck’s recent statement in his blog, that “Obama could do a lot worse” in picking Napolitano.

"My first thought is that Obama could do a lot worse," said Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, a policy group in the Washington area, who went on to praise Ms. Napolitano’s law enforcement background while denouncing her support for a guest worker program as "amnesty."

Still, with job losses continuing across the country, the timing of such efforts could backfire on advocates, said Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA, a Washington group seeking to curb immigration.

"I would think it would not be good for them to have a big loss at the beginning of an Obama administration," he said. "These are almost the worst possible conditions for them to push for this."

Many analysts are skeptical that Oba ma can navigate the political minefield of illegal immigration in his first year, while confronting the plunging economy and two wars. Still, groups on both sides are commissioning polls to gauge Americans' appetite for the immigration issue and assembling teams to file legislation for their cause next year.

"We're going to be fighting like crazy to keep it off the floor" in Congress, said Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, the nation's largest group favoring immigration controls. "Now is not the time to be talking about this."

As one of the first journalists in the nation devoted to covering environmental issues, Roy Beck chronicled an amazing college-driven movement that ultimately resulted in some of the most significant policies and agencies designed to protect human health and natural resources.

Roy Beck of Numbers USA has done a preliminary analysis of House results and finds that there are six incoming pro-amnesty Democrats replacing somewhat anti-amnesty Republicans, though none of the Democrats made immigration a major issue. On the other hand, three other newly elected Democrats ran on very strong pro-enforcement platforms and four others appear to be much more hawkish than the Republicans they’ll replace. In Beck’s words, “The results of this evening have not been a reason for celebrating. But neither have they been a reason for us to put on sackcloth.”

Roy Beck, of the group Numbers USA, disagrees. "Voters didn't punish anybody for taking strong enforcement stands," Mr. Beck wrote. "In most cases, our allies were replaced by challengers who worked hard to convince voters that they were just as tough -- or tougher -- on illegal immigration as the incumbents."

“We’re going to have an incredibly bad White House, so we’re in for some tough defensive battles,” said Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, which favors reduced immigration. “We have to make sure we’ve got at least 41 senators so we can block any Obama or McCain amnesty.”