Immigration, Wildfires, and Resilience

By Jeremy Beck

The Biden-Harris approach to immigration was to ignore the numbers and focus on making an “orderly” system. Their approach to illegal immigration was to make as much of it “legal” as they could. Even in a large country such as the U.S., that approach was doomed to failure. “Of course, it’s important to have laws … Continued

Rep. Calvert introduces the first Great Solution Bill of the 119th Congress

By Jeremy Beck

Rep. Ken Calvert has introduced the first “Great Immigration Solution” bill in the House, H.R. 251, the Legal Workforce Act. This bill would fulfill one of the Jordan Commission’s key recommendations by permanently reauthorizing E-Verify and phasing in its mandatory use. Rep. Calvert is a stalwart champion of strengthening interior enforcement. His career in the House spans four decades … Continued

Barbara Jordan’s recommendations are the backbone of our great immigration solutions

By Jeremy Beck

Barbara Jordan died twenty-eight years ago on this day, January 17th. Her last act of public service to the national community that she loved was to lead the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform. At the time of her death, she was on the cusp of ushering in a new golden age of immigration.  Her … Continued

House passes Laken Riley Act with stronger bipartisan support than last time

By Jeremy Beck

After four years of the largest wave of immigration in history, voters delivered a decisive immigration election in 2024. The border crisis was the insult to the injury of sixty years of broken promises; promises to set limits; promises to enforce them. Voters’ message to Washington: lower the numbers and make us believe it. If anything, the public’s … Continued

A Tale of Two Transitions

By Jeremy Beck

Before he left office in January 2021, President Trump issued a regulation to end the H-1B visa lottery and replace it with a system that awarded the controversial visas based on salaries (highest to lowest). The aim was to make it harder to use the visa program to bring in entry level workers. H-1B visas … Continued

Another Trump campaign promise to watch

By Jeremy Beck

Citizens of other nations can enter the U.S. on a tourist visa (or cross the border illegally), take a weekend vacation, deliver a baby, and the U.S. government will automatically bestow U.S. citizenship on the newborn. When the child turns 18, the whole family becomes eligible for green cards. This is incompatible with the global … Continued

What do we want? Audacity.

By Jeremy Beck

As is often the case, it’s easy to know what we don’t want. We don’t want to continue the cycle of on-again-off-again enforcement. We don’t want another “one time” amnesty with promises of future enforcement. We don’t want another four years of false debate about whether immigrants or Americans opposed to mass immigration are to be feared or loathed. What do we want? Audacity. We want … Continued

A decisive immigration election

By Jeremy Beck

The idea that immigration is a limitless, universal good was soundly rejected. Immigration was a clear difference maker in the election. We are living under a system of broken promises: promises to set limits; promises to enforce those limits. The votes are in. It’s time for Washington to meet those promises. Immigration dominated voters’ minds Exit polls almost universally indicate immigration was the number two or number one … Continued

Today’s immigration system is a broken promise

By Jeremy Beck

Adapted from a NumbersUSA newsletter (November 4, 2024) Sixty years ago, a majority of Congress, and the president of the United States, vowed that they would not increase immigration, which was about 300,000 per year at the time. They broke that promise. And Congress has continued to break that promise every year for sixty years. “On the Ballot: An Immigration System Most … Continued