Specter Opens Committee Consideration of Immigration Bill With Wrong Goal, Ensuring Greater Problems

NumbersUSA Urges Judiciary Committee to Consider American Workers and National Security While Considering Immigration Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee began consideration of a 300-page draft immigration bill that provides for the biggest amnesty in the history of this nation, a new “temporary” worker program, and 1.14 million new green cards annually for employment-based, family-based and student immigrants.

“This bill looms as a real threat to both our national security and to the livelihoods of millions of Americans,” said NumbersUSA Executive Director Roy Beck. “I hope the Senators on the Judiciary
Committee will recognize that enforcement needs to be the cornerstone of any immigration reform legislation and that importing millions of foreign workers, especially in the fields of math, science, and
technology, will devastate the American workforce.”

The draft bill, crafted by Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, does not include enforcement provisions included in the House-passed Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act (H.R. 4437) such as a border fence, more emphasis on state and local enforcement of immigration laws, and mandatory work eligibility verification for all employees.

During today’s mark-up, the Committee heard Senators’ opening statements, including Chairman Specter’s statement that, “Our first job is to bring the undocumented workers out of the shadows.”

“Granting amnesty to the 10 to 20 million illegal aliens in the United States will not solve the problems their presence creates. Bringing them out of the shadows will not decongest our schools and communities, it will not cause wages to rise, and it will not halt sprawl,” said Beck. “Instead, it will encourage a greater influx of those who would flout our laws in hopes of yet another amnesty and
burden American taxpayers with providing social services to further reward them for breaking our laws.”

The Judiciary Committee is expected to resume consideration of Specter’s bill next week. Additional information about the specific provisions of both the proposed Senate legislation and H.R. 4437 can
be found at www.numbersusa.com.

NumbersUSA is a non-profit, non-partisan, public policy organization with more than 130,000 active members. It opposes efforts to use federal immigration policies to force mass U.S. population growth and to depress wages of vulnerable workers.
 

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