America's Jobless

Rep. Peter DeFazio Stands up for Unemployed Americans Amid Visa Abuse

Rep. Peter DeFazio

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Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) spoke out against Oregonian forestry contractors who used stimulus money to hire legal foreign workers instead of unemployed Americans. Earlier this year, Rep. DeFazio introduced the bi-partisan Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification and Illegal Immigration Control Act (H.R.483) that would require all businesses to use E-Verify. Oregon's unemployment rate is slightly above the national average, standing at 9.6%.

Rep. Frank Guinta Cosponsors Chairman Smith's E-Verify Bill

Rep. Frank Guinta

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Freshman Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H..) has cosponsored House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2885) that would require 100% of businesses to use E-Verify for new hires within 2 years. By cosponsoring Chairman Smith's bill, Rep. Guinta has now cosponsored at least one bill in two of our 5 Great Immigration Solution categories.

Rep. David Schweikert Cosponsors Chairman Smith's E-Verify Bill

Rep. David Schweikert

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Freshman Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) has cosponsored House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2885) that would require 100% of businesses to use E-Verify for new hires within 2 years. By cosponsoring Chairman Smith's bill, Rep. Schweikert has now cosponsored at least one bill in three of our 5 Great Immigration Solution categories.

Sec. Napolitano Faces Tough Questions from House Judiciary Committee

Updated: November 1st, 2011, 1:46 pm

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  by  Jonathan Osborne

The House Judiciary Committee hosted a Department of Homeland Security oversight hearing last Wednesday with Secretary Janet Napolitano. Deferred Action and Fast and Furious were the primary topics of contention, and while Jason Chaffetz and Darrell Issa made their points, other good exchanges from Randy Forbes and Sandy Adams were overshadowed.

Reps. Duncan Hunter and Tim Griffin Cosponsor Chairman Smith's E-Verify Bill

Reps. Hunter and Griffin

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Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) have cosponsored House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act (H.R.2885). The bill would require 100% of businesses to begin using E-Verify for all new hires within 2 years and require all federal and state governments to check new hires and existing employees within 6 months.

Rep. McKinley Cosponsors Chairman Smith's Mandatory E-Verify Bill

Rep. David McKinley

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Rep. David McKinley (R-W.V.) cosponsored House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2885) over last week's House recess. Rep. McKinley is one NumbersUSA's 11 5-for-5ers for sponsoring at least one bill in each of our 5 Great Immigration-Reduction Solution categories; an honor he had earned well before his cosponsorship of Chairman Smith's bill.

Las Vegas GOP Debate: Can Gov. Perry Reverse the Damage of his Past Immigration Statements?

Updated: October 18th, 2011, 9:22 pm

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  by  Chris Chmielenski

Tonight, the GOP Presidential Hopefuls get another chance to make an impression on voters in an early primary state during a debate in Las Vegas. The Perry campaign team is already trying to get a jump on the immigration issue; throughout the day, stories have popped up across the news wires quoting his political strategists who are saying Gov. Perry will try to reverse opinions about his position on immigration.

ACLU Sues to Stop South Carolina's New Immigration Law

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The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday, charging that South Carolina's new immigration law is unconstitutional. The law requires law enforcement to check the immigration status of all people that they detain, including those that are stopped for traffic violations. The ACLU and its allies are hoping to get a federal injunction to prevent it from taking effect. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson stood behind the law, saying, "We have a strong opinion this law is constitutional and we’re prepared to defend it to the U.S. Supreme Court if we have to.”

Facts Contradict Cantor's Concern That Few Foreign Students Remain in U.S. To Work

Updated: October 12th, 2011, 11:15 am

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  by  Chris Chmielenski

Bloomberg News hosted a round table last week of business leaders and academia to discuss, in addition to many other topics, how they could get more foreign workers to the United States. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor made an appearance at the panel and his statement to the group sounded off some alarms. Rep. Cantor said he sympathized with their concerns and, through his leadership position in Congress, would work to find ways to increase the number of available foreign workers.

California Governor Jerry Brown Signs Three Bills Supporting Illegal Aliens

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California Governor Jerry Brown had until midnight Sunday, October 9th, 2011 to act on measures that had made their way through the California Legislature and onto his desk. Brown certainly did not disappoint illegal aliens in his state and across the country, as he signed three bills into law that strongly reiterated California’s stance as a sanctuary state.

EEOC Alleges Georgia Farmer Discriminated Against American Workers

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An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit filed last week accuses a South Georgia farmer of discriminating against U.S. and black workers because of their race and national origin while giving better treatment to workers from Mexico.  The suit alleges that the firm in 2009 let go the bulk of its U.S. workers but kept nearly all of its 370 workers from Mexico. The next year, lawyers say the company terminated the majority of its 233 U.S. workers, but it kept the vast majority of its 518 workers from Mexico.

Bill against illegal immigrant workers may go to House

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Roy Beck, who heads NumbersUsa.com, said the bill should be supported because it protects jobs – for Americans and legal residents, he said.

"This is a tremendous bill and it will change the face of the workplace in the next two years, especially in California," Beck said. "There are millions of payroll jobs unemployed Americans will get."

Sustainable Immigration (part 3 of 4): American Taxpayers

Updated: September 29th, 2011, 11:30 am

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  by  Jeremy Beck

The immigration questions asked during the MSNBC/Politico and CNN/Tea Party Republican presidential debates approached immigration from an ethnic perspective. The media missed the chance to press the eight candidates on the larger impacts of immigration policy. The debates follow a troubling pattern where the media and politicians fail to recognize immigration's interconnectedness with other issues. This is the third of four blogs concerning immigration-sustainability questions policy makers should address.

More from Last Week's E-Verify Mark-up

Updated: September 27th, 2011, 6:01 pm

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  by  Jonathan Osborne

EDITORS NOTE: Last week, the House Judiciary Committee completed its mark up of Chairman Smith's Legal Workforce Act, H.R.2885, which would require all businesses to use E-Verify. Ironically, the more liberal Members of the Committee tried to use conservative arguments in their attempt to delay or poison the bill. Some Members went as far as calling portions of the bill an amnesty for illegal aliens, while other Members argued that the bill for being against states rights and increasing the size and scope of the federal government.

New CIS Study Finds That Recent Jobs Created in Texas Went to New Immigrants

Gov. Rick Perry

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New research by Dr. Steve Camarota at the Center for Immigration Studies finds that 81% of the jobs created in Texas between the years 2007 and 2011 went to newly-arrived immigrants. Conclusions were based on an analysis of data from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey.

House Judiciary Committee Continues Markup of National E-Verify Bill

Rep. Lamar Smith

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The House Judiciary Committee will continue its markup today of Chairman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act, H.R.2885. The bill would require 100% of businesses to begin using E-Verify within two years as well as create several triggers that would help identify illegal aliens using fraudulent documents and/or already holding a job in the workforce.

Don't Turn a Blind Eye: E-Verify

Updated: September 20th, 2011, 6:29 pm

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  by  Jeremy Beck

The markup of Rep. Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2885) in the House Judiciary coincided with news from around the country that emphasized the need for his national E-Verify bill. While President Obama and other officials around the country are shielding more than 7 million illegal workers, more than 22 million citizens and legal immigrants want a full-time job but can't find one.

Our Grid Compares Immigration Enforcement Under Current Law With H.R. 2885

Updated: September 19th, 2011, 9:06 am

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  by  Roy Beck

In one glance at our easy, colorful enforcement comparison Grid, you can see how the climate for illegal aliens in your state would get really tough if Congress passes U.S. House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith's H.R. 2885 (the Legal Workforce Act). Take a look at the Grid and see the 30 ways that H.R. 2885 would ensure that only legal workers get payroll jobs.

House Judiciary Committee Schedules Markup for the Legal Workforce Act

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The House Judiciary Committee will begin marking up Chariman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act on Thursday morning. The Legal Workforce Act would require national use of E-Verify for all new hires for 100% of businesses within 2 years of enactment. Earlier today, Chairman Smith reintroduced the bill as H.R.2885 with a new subsection that requires the Department of Homeland Security to establish a support center for states that wish to help enforce the law.

Another Urgent Reason to Pass Federal E-Verify Bill: California Passes Bill Barring Local E-Verify Mandate

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The California State Senate passed A.B.1236 earlier this week, sending the bill to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature. The bill would prohibit counties and local municipalities in the state from requiring businesses to use E-Verify, futhering the need for House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act that would require all business in the U.S. to use E-Verify.

Rep. Mo Brooks calls on Pres. Obama to Put American Workers Ahead of Illegal Aliens

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In a speech on the House floor, Representative Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) called for President Barack Obama to put jobless Americans ahead of illegal alien workers. Rep. Brooks is a member of NumbersUSA's 5-for-5 Club because of his sponsorship of our 5 Great Immigration-Reduction Solutions.

GOP Candidates Face Questions on Amnesty During Reagan Debate

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The field of GOP Presidential Hopefuls faced questions on how to secure the border and deal with the 11 million illegal aliens who live in the United States during Wednesday's debate held at the Reagan Library. While everyone in the field provided some details to their border security plans, most of the field also danced around the issue of amnesty with only a few providing a strongline opposition to amnesty.

Obama Administration Decision to Defer Deportations Hurts Unemployed Americans

Updated: August 23rd, 2011, 8:09 am

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  by  Roy Beck

Three years into a jobs Depression the Obama Administration again turned its back on unemployed Americans. The Department of Homeland Security announced it will individually review the 300,000 cases of illegal aliens currently holding deportation orders in an effort to appease his pro-amnesty critics. With this move illegal aliens will become eligible to receive work permits and compete with 22 million Americans who can't find a full-time job.

African-American Middle Class Eroding As Unemployment Rate Soars

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The unemployment situation across America is bad, no doubt. But for African-Americans in some cities, this is not the great recession. It’s the Great Depression.

Take Charlotte, N.C., for example. It is a jewel of the “new South.” The largest financial center outside of New York City, it's the showcase for next year’s Democratic National Convention. It was a land of hope and opportunity for many blacks with a four-year college degree or higher.

A Lesson in Immigration and Offshoring for 2012 Hopefuls

Updated: May 5th, 2011, 5:54 pm

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  by  Jeremy Beck

Donald Barlett and James Steele, authors of the best-selling "America: What Went Wrong," are revisiting their economic series with a fresh look at policies that contributed to the current economic crisis. Their "Offshoring" entry - which should be required reading for every 2012 presidential hopeful - examines programming jobs. Once thought as the key to our economic future, IT jobs have been declining for two decades even as the tech industry has demanded more visas for foreign workers.

Feds Further Expand Investigation of Chipotle

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The federal government interviewed more Chipotle employees this week in two dozen locations in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. Earlier this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched an audit on the company's employee records, resulting in the firing of approximately 500 illegal aliens in Minnesota, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Chicago Tribune: "Businesses need workers;" Paper says there "aren't enough visas to fill the available jobs"

Updated: May 31st, 2017, 2:13 pm

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  by  Jeremy Beck

Though it may surprise 25 million jobless Americans, the Chicago Tribune's editorial board believes there aren't enough available workers to meet the economy's demand.

Dan Rather Reports: Many H-2B Petitioners in Counties with High Unemployment

Updated: April 12th, 2011, 1:58 pm

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  by  Jeremy Beck

Dan Rather Reports, with the help of Policy Map, has put together an impressive database where you can search for companies that applied for H-2B foreign worker visas through the year 2009. The H-2B visa allows U.S. employers to hire foreign nationals for non-agricultural labor or service jobs where they can't find enough American workers, but Dan Rather reports that, "many of the companies that petitioned for H-2B guest worker visas were located in counties with particularly high unemployment."

Immigration Angle Missing from Today's Economic News

Updated: July 24th, 2017, 3:29 pm

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  by  Jeremy Beck

According to Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman, immigration policy reduces American employment opportunities and lowers existing workers' wages. Following the April jobs report, major newspapers assured us that the economy is improving. The devil, however, is in the details.

END VISA LOTTERY: 3 More Bill Co-Sponsors (Forbes, McKinley & Posey)

Reps. Forbes, McKinley & Posey

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Reps. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), David McKinley (R-W.V.), and Bill Posey (R-Fla.) have co-sponsored the bi-partisan SAFE for America Act of 2011 that would end the Visa Lottery. The Visa Lottery issues 50,000 green cards based on "random selection" instead of humanitarian need, family connection, or other economic or cultural value to the United States.

Guestworker/Offshoring Scandal Gets (a little) Media Attention

Updated: April 5th, 2011, 11:58 am

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  by  Jeremy Beck

High tech companies use legal guest worker programs to displace American workers and eventually move many Americans' jobs overseas. Although this harmful practice that has cost hundreds of thousands of skilled Americans their jobs has been ongoing for more than 15 years, it has received scant attention in Washington D.C. or in the national media. But because of testimony given at a recent House Subcommittee hearing on H-1b visas and a whistle-blower scandal from within one of the largest users of the H-1b program, Americans are about to become enlightened.

House Subcommittee Hearing on H-1B Visas Misses an Opportunity to Stand Up for Unemployed Americans

Updated: March 19th, 2014, 5:00 pm

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  by  Jonathan Osborne

The House Immigration Subcommittee hosted a hearing on the impact of the H-1B visa program and whether it meets the needs of the U.S economy and its workers. Unfortunately, the issues of fraud and program management remained the primary topics of concern instead of whether or not foreign workers are still necessary during the peak of our recession.

NumbersUSA Member has first-hand experience with H-1B visa fraud

Updated: March 30th, 2011, 11:12 am

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  by  Chris Chmielenski

A few weeks ago, one of our members posted a great comment on a blog about the media's perception of the H-1B visa program. The member, who wishes to remain anonymous, used to work for both Oracle and Hewlett-Packard and was an integral part of the companies' abuses of the H-1B visa program. He recruited high-tech workers from Latin America and Asia, and then worked with immigration lawyers who capitalized on the various loopholes within the program.

Virginia Gov. McDonnell Accelerates E-Verify Law Through Executive Order

Gov. Bob McDonnell

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Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell ordered that all executive branch state agencies must use E-Verify to check all new hires beginning June 1, 2011. The state legislature had passed a bill last year that requires state agencies to begin using E-Verify by the end of 2012, but Gov. McDonnell's executive order implements the law 18 months sooner.

2 Kinds of Republicans -- Mean-Spirited Utah Keeps Jobs From Unemployed Citizens While Compassionate Ariz. Opens Them Up

Updated: March 17th, 2011, 5:58 pm

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  by  Roy Beck

In Utah, the cheap-labor Chamber of Commerce lobby has taken over the Republican Party and is, in effect, blocking thousands of unemployed citizens and legal immigrants from jobs being held by illegal foreign workers. Across the border in Arizona, though, the Republican Party has resisted the worst of corporate lobbying and put unemployed citizens and legal immigrants first, constantly trying to stop unscrupulous businesses from filling jobs with illegal aliens. This local TV newscast shows the superiority of the compassionate Arizona approach . . . .

240 Suspected Illegal Aliens Fired in Minnesota for Not Providing Valid Work Papers

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A janitorial firm in Minnesota is firing more than half of its workforce after workers were unable to provide valid paperwork proving that they are authorized to work in the United States. According to a spokesman for the SEIU, the employees at Harvard Maintenance will be let go by the end of the month.

Why does the U.S. restrict H-1B visas? To protect American workers.

Updated: June 8th, 2017, 3:00 pm

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  by  Jeremy Beck

The NBC Nightly News' segment, "Can America Keep Best, Brightest Immigrants?" asks a seemingly-straightforward question: "Many foreigners come here, get educated, and want to stay, but can’t. How can the U.S. take advantage of their potential?" The report takes a look at the H-1B (non-immigrant) visa program, which was created in 1993 to allow skilled workers - particularly in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields - to enter the U.S. on a temporary basis. The "temporary" part of the visa has NBC and the featured personalities in this story concerned. Their thesis is simple: "America's visa restrictions lead to reverse brain drain," depriving the U.S. economy of the job creators it desperately needs.

HARROP: Utah law isn't pro-worker

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Someone is missing at the celebration for the Utah Compact on immigration. Who could that be?

Latino activists, the Catholic Church, the Mormon Church, the Chamber of Commerce and the state's political establishment ---- they're all there, hailing the law that would let illegal immigrants pay a fine, then apply to the state for two-year work permits. In the meantime, the governor would seek a waiver for the program from the federal government.

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