Take Action On Amnesty!

From NumbersUSA:

The open-border opposition plans to get its amnesty for millions of illegal aliens through the DREAM Act amnesty and increase the number of legal foreign workers through H-1B and H-2B visas. Both Democratic and Republican leaders are working to pass these amnesties and increases - thus paving the way for more amnesties later this fall. Once again, we must overwhelm the Senate with our opposition.

Many of the senators who voted with us against the comprehensive amnesty bill this summer are indicating that they favor these piecemeal amnesties and increases - which are altogether as dangerous as the giant amnesty we defeated this summer.

They will try to attach three proposals to the Department of Defense authorization bill: (1) The DREAM Act (amnesty); (2) provisions of the SKIL Act (increases in H-1B visas); and (3) increases in H-2B non-agricultural seasonal workers.

The DREAM Act sounds like an amnesty to provide in-state tuition to illegal aliens who entered the country before they were 16 (millions of illegal aliens would qualify), but in reality would likely grant amnesty to millions more because no documentation is required of an illegal alien applicant to prove that he/she entered the country before he/she was 16. What is required? A sworn statement. Once that illegal alien is approved, he/she is put on the fast track to citizenship and "retroactive benefits," while lawfully present aliens are forced to take the long route.

The SKIL Act provisions would increase the annual cap from 65,000 to 115,000 the first year, and by an additional 20 percent the next. There is a "ceiling" of 180,000 per year, but there are so many exemptions from the cap (currently, approximately two-thirds of H-1B visas have been exempted) that the cap itself is virtually meaningless. Wages the the tech industry have been falling or flat for more than five years now. This increase will make even easier for U.S. employers to import cheap labor rather than hiring American workers. Watch this CNN report to see how it works.

The increase in H-2B visas for non-agricultural, unskilled workers works to deny jobs and decent wages to "unskilled" American workers in the same way that the H-1B does for "skilled" workers. Employers who want to hire H-2B workers must obtain a labor certification from the Department of Labor (DoL) stating that qualified American workers are not available to fill the jobs, but the DoL is not permitted to verify the truthfulness of the information the employers submit on the petitions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 14 million Americans actively seeking employment who cannot find a full-time job in the current economy. Forty percent of the illegal alien population came to the United States on a temporary visa, like the H-2B, and then overstayed after the visa expired. Congress has not implemented an exit system to ensure that visa holders ever leave.

Call, e-mail, call, e-mail, call, e-mail, then call and e-mail again! Our leaders want this, but the American people do not. It's up to us to make our voices heard!

There's my two cents.