Despite the insistence of Big Ag that its only choice besides hiring illegal workers and paying them below-poverty wages is a new guest program that harms American workers and exploits foreign ones. That's not true.
What is the Visa Lottery? It is a program that every year awards 50,000 immigrant visas (and lifetime work permits) to individuals living in eligible countries who are fortunate enough to be chosen in a random drawing. President Trump has called for its termination, as well as an end to chain migration.
According to Politico, unless the U.S. continues to bring in low-wage workers from abroad, there will no one to care for aging Baby Boomers because "there are reason's to assume" Americans won't be taking those jobs. The reasons for that assumption are not convincing, and the article's writer inadvertently makes a compelling case for how to improve wages and working condition for home health care workers.
Opinion journalist Reuben Navarrette, Jr. recently made the claim that the RAISE Act would prevent U.S. farmers from employing crop workers. Anyone familiar with the bill knows that it focuses solely on how the federal government issues immigrant visas, and agribusiness will continue to have access to an unlimited supply of agricultural guest workers under the H-2A program.
Former Congressman Tom Tancredo penned an open letter to Pope Francis this week, urging the Pontiff to concentrate on the generosity of the American people, who welcome in more immigrants than any other nation, and to defend the right of Americans to implement immigration laws beneficial to the common good of the citizenry.
Candidate Trump promised to end the illegal and unconstitutional DACA program on "day one" of his Administration. He failed to keep that promise. There is talk in Congress of a new version of the DREAM Act to reward DACA recipients a formal amnesty. The President must decide where lie his priorities. With the American people and the U.S. Constitution, or with the D.C. special interests who are cynically attempting to play to people's sympathies in order to prevent genuine reform of the immigration system?
The RAISE Act would, among other things, improve worker productivity by bringing in more skilled immigrants. It would also help alleviate some of the "slack" in the U.S. labor market. A recent article in The New York Times , without ever mentioning immigration, of course, nevertheless had some interesting things to say about factors slowing worker productivity.
Those who oppose lowering immigration to a sustainable level either argue along the lines that "America is a nation of immigrants," and therefore Americans have no right keep out any immigrant who wants to come; or that immigration "grows the economy," and any restrictions will have catastrophic economic consequences. Neither assertion holds up to the most basic examination.
CNN's Jim Acosta hi-jacked the White House briefing last Wednesday after the introduction of the RAISE Act. Problem is, he knows very little about immigration policy or the history of immigration to the United States.
Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan answered press questions yesterday. Reading the transcript against the media reports reveals a stark contrast between what Homan said, and what reporters claim he said.