With an economy in tatters and more than six million Americans already out of work, why does the federal government insist on bringing in even more workers to compete for a dwindling number of jobs?
For the first time in American history, immigration is at an all-time high despite a protracted and punishing recession, says Dan Stein, president of the Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
Our southern border remains open even though the World Health Organization raised the threat level from an outbreak of swine flu in Mexico to its second-highest category, just short of worldwide pandemic.
Closing the border “would be akin to closing the barn door after the horses are out, because we already have cases here in the United States,” President Barack Obama told reporters during his recent press conference. His administration has no intention of slowing down the flood even when American lives – in addition to American jobs – are at stake.
This only makes sense if you believe, as Stein does, that both political parties have such an overriding “institutional interest in border chaos” that they will continue to allow 1.1 million legal, and up to 500,000 illegal immigrants to enter the U.S. every year no matter what.
Democrats want to change the political landscape by flooding the country with unskilled labor, he says, while Republicans protect businesses that profit from hiring cheaper foreign workers. Both parties ignore a large majority of Americans who have repeatedly insisted that federal immigration laws be enforced.
The open borders crowd often point to hard-working immigrants who just want a chance to get ahead. But extending a helping hand should not come at the expense of our own fellow citizens. “It’s very easy to be charitable with someone else’s money or someone else’s job,” FAIR executive director Julie Kirchner said. And President Obama certainly didn’t tell us that millions of American jobs he planned to create under his $787 billion stimulus package wouldn’t actually go to Americans.
It’s not only farm hands and restaurant workers who are doing jobs Americans could be doing. In his 2008 study, “No Coyotes Necessary,” David Seminara of the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that up to half of all illegal aliens in the U.S. are white-collar workers who overstayed their visas.
Arlington IT professional Gene Nelson told me that at least 20 of his friends, many like him with advanced degrees, were replaced by immigrants here on H1b visas. “Some of them even had to train their replacements,” he told me. “This is crazy.”
H1b visas are capped at 85,000 annually, but tens of thousands more foreigners are brought here by colleges, non-profits, and research institutions – and never leave. Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff unilaterally extended a professional training program for foreign students – which Nelson calls “a feeder system for H1bs” – from 12 to 27 months even though the Senate rejected an extension the year before.
But things may be changing. Blue Dog Democrats Heath Shuler, NC, and Frank Kratovil, MD, have cosponsored a bill that extends E-Verify, a federal program that requires employers to check applicants’ immigration status before hiring, which reportedly is working as intended. However, reauthorization of E-Verify is currently being held hostage to unpopular amnesty legislation on Capitol Hill.
But as unemployment continues to rise, the will of the people may finally prevail over the monied and political special interests. In fact, this may be the year when constituents give their representatives in Congress an ultimatum: Save our jobs or lose your own.
Barbara F. Hollingsworth is The Examiner’s local opinion editor.
