Vulnerable Americans

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano Dodges Congress' Questions Regarding Executive Amnesty

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Length:  3 min 39 sec

On July 19, 2012, the House Judiciary Committee asked DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano about the administration's DREAM Act executive amnesty. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.), who chairs the Immigration Subcommittee, asked Sec. Napolitano how many illegal aliens would receive work permits while millions of Americans were out of work. He had to ask the questions four times before getting an answer. Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith asked Sec. Napolitano if students who qualify would have to provide a certified school transcript. She said, they're "still working on the details." 

Trump Admin. to End Work Permits for Spouses of H-1B Workers

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Sources have said that the Trump administration is planning to end the Obama-era rule that allowed spouses of H-1B foreign workers to receive a work permit. Under this new rule 41,526 people received work permits from Oct. 2015-Sept. 2016.

In 2015 Pres. Obama created a work permit for certain H-4 visa holders, even though under this visa they were not allowed to hold a job or be issued a Social Security number.

Sen. Grassley Asks DHS to Review Current TPS Designations

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Today Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley sent a letter to acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke asking her to review current TPS designated countries to ensure they meet the requirements. Several countries currently in the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program will be up for review in the next several months.

U.S.-Born Two-Thirds of Direct-Care Workforce; Politico Writer Concludes Low-Wage Immigrant Workers Best Option for Future

Updated: November 11th, 2017, 1:35 pm

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  by  Eric Ruark

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.

Connecting passage of ag-visa bill with mandatory E-Verify creates new opportunity

Updated: November 10th, 2017, 7:45 pm

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  by  Roy Beck

The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has approved mandatory E-Verify many times. But it has never reached the House floor for a vote.
So, what makes the committee's passage of another mandatory E-Verify bill on Wednesday night any more likely to succeed?

New USCIS Memo Removes Prior Eligibility Decisions for H-1B Renewals

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A new USCIS memo shows that the agency has rescinded its policy that required immigration officers to defer to previous eligibility decisions when approving H-1B visa renewals. Under the new policy a H-1B renewal application will receive the same level of investigation as an initial application.

Sen. Grassley Urges NAFTA Ambassador to Review the TN Visa Program

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Yesterday Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, asking him to review the high-skilled TN visa program during the NAFTA negotiations. Sen. Grassley says the TN visa program could undermine the Trump administration’s goal of protecting American workers from being replaced by cheap, foreign labor.

Dept. of Labor Denies Employer of H-2B Workers for Not Advertising for American Workers

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This week the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) upheld the Dept. of Labor’s (DOL) decision to deny DDM Hauler Inc.’s request for seasonal H-2B workers. The DOL claims that the employer did not show proof that they had tried to hire American workers first by placing ads in the local newspapers as required.

DOJ and State Dept. Partner to Protect American Workers from Discrimination

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The Department of Justice and the State Department have formalized a partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) where they have agreed to share information to protect American workers from discrimination and target employers who commit visa fraud or misuse their visas.

Rep. Steve King: Trade Agreements Cannot Change Immigration Laws

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Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) publicly released the letter he sent to U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer to remind him that under federal law trade agreements cannot change immigration law. The letter was sent in August as the fourth round of NAFTA negotiations were taking place in Washington, DC.

Rep. Smith: Mandatory E-Verify Would Protect American Workers and Businesses

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Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) wrote an op-ed in The Hill about his bill The Legal Workforce Act that would mandate E-Verify for all employers and turn off the jobs magnet for illegal aliens. House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) have co-sponsored the bill and it is scheduled for markup by the House Judiciary Committee today.

Ag Bill Would Expand Visa Program to Dairy & Meat and Seafood Processors

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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) introduced the Agricultural Guestworker Act or AG Act this week, which would replace the existing, H-2A temporary guest-worker visa program with a new H-2C temporary guest-worker visa. The H-2C visa would expand the types of jobs that foreign workers could perform under the visa, adding both dairy workers and meat and seafood processors to the program.

DOJ to Sue Colorado Corporation for Discriminating Against American Workers

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U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Dept. of Justice will file a lawsuit against Crop Production Services, Inc. for violating the Immigration and Nationality Act by discriminating against American workers. This will be the first lawsuit based on Pres. Trump’s ‘Buy American, Hire American’ executive order that he signed in April.

Challenges to H-1B Applications Increased by 45% from Last Year

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Reuters reported that data provided by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shows that between Jan.1 and Aug. 31 of this year, USCIS issued 85,000 challenges or “requests for evidence” (RFEs) to H-1B petitions. This is a 45% increase compared to the same period last year which only issued around 59,000 RFEs.

LA Company Pays Over $100,000 to American Workers in Discrimination Settlement

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The Dept. of Justice announced that Barrios Street Realty Inc. has paid around $108,000 to 12 U.S. workers as part of their settlement agreement. The settlement is an effort to resolve claims that the Louisiana based company gave preference to foreign H-2B workers and discriminated against Americans workers.

DHS: Pres. Obama Granted 2.3 Million Work Permits to Foreign Workers in 2016

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The Obama administration awarded 2.3 million work permits to foreign workers in 2016 according to a new report from the Department of Homeland Security. This number does not include new legal immigrants and those granted visas through guest-worker programs such as H-1B visas. This means that around 4 million legal foreign workers were added the U.S. economy and job market in FY16 alone.

Greeley Tribune: 'We Like Our Cheap Food'

Updated: July 4th, 2017, 4:00 pm

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  by  Jeremy Beck

The food processing industry has a history of seeking out desperate workers who will accept lower wages and deplorable conditions. There are not enough foreign workers, they say, to take these jobs...at the wages they are offering.

If these businesses took the radical step of raising wages, the Greeley Tribune warns, our cheap food would be... less cheap.

Bipartisan Group of Senators Urge Trump Admin Not to Increase H-2B Visas

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Led by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a bipartisan group of Senators sent a letter to DHS Secretary John Kelly and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta urging them not to increase the number of H-2B visas in 2017 despite authorization by Congress in the recently passed omnibus spending bill. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also signed the letter.

Pew: More Foreign OPT Students Remaining in the U.S. to Work

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A recent report by the Pew Research Center shows that more foreign students are using the Optional Practical Training (OPT) visa program to gain employment and stay in the U.S. until they can receive an H-1B visa. This prevents many American graduates, who attended the same colleges and universities, from being hired in those fields.

Center for Immigration Studies Employment Report Shows Too Little Progress for American Workers

Updated: May 31st, 2017, 5:05 pm

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  by  Eric Ruark

The Center for Immigration Studies released employment data for the first quarter of 2017. The report shows that the labor force participation rate for American workers remains at a low ebb.

Senator Tills Proposes Changes to H-2B Visa Program

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WITN News

The H-2B visa program is gaining attention from a bipartisan group of senators here on Capitol Hill who believe it will grow jobs.

But those against the bill don't like these jobs not going to America workers.

Chris Chmielenski, Director of Content and Activism for NumbersUSA, says, "It's going to foreign workers and usually at the expense of wages for American workers."

Chmielenski's group advocates for lower immigration levels.

Open Borders Groups Gird for H-1B Fights

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Breitbart -- John Binder

Immigration hawks at NumbersUSA say the open borders lobby appears to be opposing every position the Trump Administration holds on immigration.

“I think that the advocacy groups are going to scream and yell about any single thing that anyone proposes that is not open borders,” NumbersUSA Government Affairs Director Rosemary Jenks told Breitbart Texas. “They’ve decided that it’s in their interest to fight everything Trump wants to do.”

Expert: Guest Worker Reforms Are ‘PR Fix’ for Silicon Valley

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Breitbart News -- John Binder

Similarly, Brown’s legislation would mirror Lofgren’s bill in the sense that it would not deal with the number of H1-B visas given every year to foreign workers, but instead close loopholes that allow companies to hire cheaper, foreign workers over American workers.

WH Report: Labor Participation Rate for Working-Age Men Among Lowest in the World

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The labor participation rate for working-age men in the United States ranks in the bottom three among developed nations in the world, according to a new report from the White House's Council of Economic Advisors. The report said that 88% of men between the ages of 25 and 54 are working compared to a high-water mark of 98% in 1954. Men with a high school degree or less are suffering the most and could worsen under efforts by several Members of Congress to increase the number of H-2B visas given to low-skilled foreign workers.

The November Jobs Report Is Not Sign of a Strong Economy

Updated: July 24th, 2017, 2:38 pm

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  by  Eric Ruark

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released the job numbers for November 2015, and much of the media is repeating the Fed’s rote line that this is yet another “key indicator of economic strength,” and that maybe, just maybe, it is time to raise interest rates. Whether or not Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen decides to raise interest rates is an important topic to consider, but that discussion almost always neglects the plight of tens of millions of Americans.

Could immigration be GOP's winning issue?

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Park City Daily News -- John David Dyche

Have you ever wondered why roofing crews seem to be comprised entirely of non-English-speaking immigrants while U.S. welfare rolls bulge, unemployment among young African-American men rages and the labor force participation rate for men aged 25 to 54 is at an all-time low? U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama apparently has.

More immigrants could mean slightly lower wages in blue-collar jobs

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Washington Post -- Max Ehrenfreund

With another contentious debate about immigration approaching for the new Congress, it's worth remembering that immigration doesn't benefit everyone equally. Immigrants are better off when they can come here freely, of course, and so are most people already in the country, who benefit from immigrants' skills and labor.

Does Immigration Harm Working Americans?

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The Atlantic -- David Frum

The job news is increasingly good: 321,000 jobs created in November. Yet the national economic mood remains grimly bleak.

Many Americans feel a sharp distinction between what’s said about “the” economy and what they experience in “their” economy. At the top of the income distribution, wages are rising. In the middle and bottom, wages stagnate. Jobs are created, yes—but native-born Americans are not hired for them.

Midterm Voter Survey Says Majorities Reject Executive Action and Want Jobs to Go to American Workers

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A survey conducted by The Polling Company/WomanTrend of this year's midterm election voters found that overwhelming majorities want President Obama to work with Congress on immigration reform and feel that new jobs should go to American workers and legal immigrants already here.

According to the survey, 74% of Americans say that President Obama should work with Congress rather than around Congress on immigration reform. This includes majorities of men (75%), women (74%), whites (79%), blacks (59%), and Hispanics (54%).

Our immigration/jobs ad saturated Senate battleground states

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Length:  30 sec

Representing 1.5 million registered email activists and 2 million unique Facebook followers, NumbersUSA spent more than a million dollars in the three weeks running through Election Day putting this ad in front of citizens primarily in Senate battleground states through local broadcast TV and social media. 

Overblown or overlooked? Mass immigration's impact on low-wage workers

Updated: July 5th, 2017, 4:13 pm

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  by  Jeremy Beck

Ezra Klein and David Frum agree that mass immigration yields benefits for millions of American professionals in the form of more affordable services. They agree that the tradeoffs - including lower wages and reduced opportunities - mostly fall on low-wage workers (although I know some American STEM workers who would beg to differ). But they disagree on whether concern for low-skilled workers should be central to immigration policy.

Profs Slam STEM Worker Shortage Claims, Say Tech Companies Undermine American Grads

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Professors from Rutgers and Howard Universities denied claims by the high-tech industry that more guest workers are needed due to a shortage of Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) workers and said the industry’s desire for cheap foreign guest workers is cutting off the “upward mobility to the middle class for so many of the working class kids."

This Week on Immigration in the Wall Street Journal

Updated: July 24th, 2017, 2:31 pm

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  by  Jeremy Beck

Congress continues to issue over 1 million green cards and approximately 700,000 temporary guest worker visas a year. The Senate immigration bill and its House counterpart would double those numbers, a fact that tends to go unnoticed in the media. I often wonder if immigration reporters and their colleagues who cover employment and the economy read each other's stories.

If Illegal Aliens are Already Citizens, then Joe Biden is Already President

Updated: October 2nd, 2017, 2:57 pm

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  by  Van Esser

Vice President and potential presidential candidate Joe Biden gave a speech last week in which he said the 11 million illegal aliens in the United States “are already Americans.” Famous for pandering to audiences and, uh, stretching the truth, Biden also has been a champion for causes irrespective of whether they are consistent with U.S. laws or the Constitution. So if he’s misguided enough to think illegal aliens are citizens, perhaps one day Biden will dispense with the formalities of an election and declare he’s already president. Or at least the comic-in-chief.

California paper's Q&A with Roy showcases moral and poll backing for immigration reductions

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This past weekend, the Orange County Register ran a Q&A with NumbersUSA's Roy Beck. The interview, conducted by staff writer Roxana Kopetman, touched on the ongoing immigration debate in Congress, our recent evangelical poll and the disparity between church leaders and their followers, and the future of immigration policy in the United States.

Audit Shows Obama Administration Going Easy on Businesses that Hire Illegal Workers

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Pres. Obama has made cracking down on employers who hire illegal workers a focal point of his immigration reform plan, but a new audit shows that the administration is anything but tough on unscrupulous employers. According to the audit by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general, administration officials have cut fines by an average of 40%.

New all-voters poll: Most voters oppose Obama's & Boehner's work-permits-first plans for illegal aliens by 2-1 landslide

Updated: October 2nd, 2017, 2:58 pm

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  by  Roy Beck

A new national poll shows that by more than a 2-1 margin, voters opposed President Obama's and Speaker Boehner's proposals to give work permits to illegal immigrants before full implementation of enforcement measures. The most popular option among survey respondents was to remove the ability of illegal immigrants to have U.S.  jobs and benefits, and to encourage them to return to their home countries. 

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