Legal Immigration

The Senate Judiciary Committee completed its markup of the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, S.744, this evening, approving the bill 13-to-5. Three Republicans, including Gang of Eight members Senators Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham along with Sen. Orrin Hatch voted with the Democratic majority. While the Committee did approve several bipartisan amendments, all amendments to increase the enforcement provisions or reduce the future flow of legal immigration were rejected.

On Tuesday, May 21st, state and local groups around the country will hold a series of press conferences to highlight their opposition to S. 744, the Senate’s comprehensive amnesty bill. The goal is to call attention to the bill’s many failings and to promote an immigration-enforcement approach to reform.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) was joined by five other House Members on Tuesday denouncing the Senate Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, S.744. Rep. King was joined on the steps of the Capitol by Reps. Mo Brooks of Alabama, John Fleming of Louisiana, Paul Gosar of Arizona, and Steve Stockman and Louie Gohmert of Texas. The six Congressmen said they were concerned about the huge negative impact an amnesty for 11 million illegal aliens would have on the national debt, and they said they stood by the rule of law.

As the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to review the guest-worker provisions of the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, a national association consisting of electrical and electronics engineers is urging Congress to leave the H-1B visa quotas alone. The IEEE issued a statement on Monday to reject amendments that would further increase the number of H-1B visas issued each year and amendments that would weaken worker protections.

On the first day of the Senate Judiciary Committee's markup of the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, one thing was crystal clear -- the Democrat-leaning Committee and its two GOP Gang of Eight Members are set on legalizing 11 million illegal aliens before any enforcement takes place. The Committee voted down 5 amendments that would have required measurable enforcement efforts occur before illegal aliens are legalized and given work permits.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will begin marking up the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill (S.744) on Thursday, have filed 300 amendments that propose changes to the 867-page legislation. The lion's share of amendments were offered by Republicans on the committee; in fact, the committee's Ranking Member, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), offered almost as many amendments (77) as the committee's entire Democratic delegation (93).

Now that the tech industry has secured provisions in the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill that provides massive increases in both green cards and guest-worker visas for high-skilled workers, their lobbying arm is putting a full-court press on Congress to pass the bill. Most recently, television ads paid for by the tech industry have been launched in states where moderate Democrats and Republicans live to provide cover for a potentially damaging vote in support of the Gang's bill.

The Gang of Eight filed an amended version of its "comprehensive immigration reform" amnesty bill on Tuesday that, most notably, continues the current E-Verify program. There was some debate over whether the original bill scrapped the existing E-Verify program to create a brand new system, but the updated bill adds some clarity to the contested point.

ICE Union President Chris Crane has been critical of the Gang of Eight's intentional decision to ignore law enforcement while drafting its "comprehensive immigration reform" bill that would grant amnesty to most of the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens. He's sent a letter to the Gang requesting a meeting, he's asked for a meeting while talking with the press, and he's even got himself thrown out of the Gang's public unveiling last week when he tried to ask a question during the Q&A portion. Yesterday, he told the Senate Judiciary Committee about the Gang's refusal to talk with immigration enforcement agents.

Indiana Senator Dan Coats urged caution this weekend as the Senate prepares to take on the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill. Sen. Coats appeared on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" and said the country learned some things after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and that there may be similar revelations after the Boston bombings.

Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-Fla.) support for a "comprehensive immigration reform" bill that offers amnesty to most of the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens has him at odds with an unlikely foe - the Tea Party. Tea Party activists held protests at all of his Florida offices earlier this week, and Sen. Rubio and the Tea Party Patriots have gotten into a war of words over the last few days.

A survey of small businesses conducted by National Small Business Association found that 56% of small business owners would support a mandatory E-Verify requirement. Only 24% opposed such a mandate. The survey also found that only 5% of small business owners have applied for either the H-1B visa for high-skilled, temporary foreign workers or the H-2B visa for low-skilled, non-agriculture temporary visas.

A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies has found that the United States issued nearly 700,000 guest-worker visas in 2012. This weekend, labor and business groups agreed on terms that would create a new low-skill, guest-worker program, creating up to 200,000 new temporary work visas each year. Business groups claim the U.S. doesn't issue enough guest-worker visas, specifically low-skill worker visas.

Last week, Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy said the Committee would move the Gang of Eight's anticipated "comprehensive immigration reform" bill with "deliberate speed." But this weekend, Gang of Eight Member, Sen. Marco Rubio, sent a letter to Sen. Leahy calling for an open and transparent consideration of immigration legislation.

The jobs recession of the last several years has forced recent college grads to settle for low-skilled jobs in restaurants and retail stores. And new research from the National Bureau of Economic Research says that even as the economy improves, they may be stuck in those low-skilled jobs.