ACTION ALERT: Senate looking at slipping in another immigration INCREASE. UPDATED

image credit: Insights.dice.com

UPDATE 5:08 on Thurs by Neil Munro on Breitbart:

Sen. Lindsey Graham is using the coronavirus recovery bills to dramatically expand the award of EB-5 green cards to wealthy Chinese if they lend money to U.S. real estate investors and other companies, according to several activists and Politico magazine.

“How can people pushing this not see how politically explosive this is?” said Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies. “An EB-5 increase would almost exclusively benefit Chinese: It is hard to imagine what they are thinking.”

The plan by Graham, (R-S.C.) was provided to Politico, which said it would “boost the number of [EB-5] visas offered to wealthy immigrants who invest money in the United States as it tries to boost a faltering economy amid the escalating coronavirus outbreak, according to four people familiar with the situation.” [Full update is here.]

[resuming from yesterday's blog] This just in from NumbersUSA:

Senators mulling immigration increases in emergency spending bills.

Tell your Senators to OPPOSE!

Our Capitol Hill team is learning of some troubling news. There are a handful of Senators, along with some in the White House, who are looking to slip an INCREASE of legal immigration into the emergency spending bills currently being drafted to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

The provision being discussed would increase the number of EB-5 visas from 10,000 to 75,000. The EB-5 visa program provides foreign nationals with a green card in return for an investment in an American business that leads to the creation of at least 10 jobs for American workers. Currently, investors have to invest at least $900,000, but the provision could reduce that amount to $450,000.

Quite simply, the EB-5 visa program is the selling of U.S. citizenship. It's ridiculous to think that while Americans are concerned about their jobs and their health, that some Senators are looking for ways to benefit foreign nationals instead.

Please call your two U.S. Senators and urge them to oppose any efforts to slip an EB-5 increase into the economic stimulus package. Congress should not be burying bad immigration policy into emergency bills.

The talking point: tell your Senators to oppose an increase in EB-5 visas in the emergency bills.

Sen. Rob Portman:  202-224-3353 or by email here

Sen. Sherrod Brown: (202) 224-2315 (DC) or (216)  522 7272 (Cleveland)

# # #

Update: immigration, DACA amnesty

Neil Munro at Breitbart reports:

President Donald Trump and a group of GOP senators quickly rejected a DACA amnesty deal pushed by Sen. Lindsey Graham on Thursday afternoon – but left the door open to future negotiations.

They will now wait until after the Supreme Court decides on the legality of Barack Obama’s work permit giveaway to 800,000 younger illegals, says multiple media reports.

NumbersUSA adds (via subscriber newsletter):

Other Senators reported at the White House meeting represented some mixed immigration positions: Ted Cruz of Texas, Kevin Cramer of South Dakota, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Martha McSally of Arizona, Mike Lee of Utah, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and David Perdue of Georgia.

Sens. Tillis and McSally would be open to joining Graham in supporting a mass amnesty, particularly if it came with the right tradeoffs. Sen. Tillis, along with Sen. Johnson, is looking for an expansion of guest worker programs. Sen. McSally would likely be willing to trade amnesty for increased border security in Arizona.

Thankfully, Sens. Cotton and Cruz were also in attendance. Both Senators have pushed back against the idea of granting a permanent amnesty to DACA recipients. Coincidently, Sen. Cotton slammed the Trump Administration's decision to increase the number of low-skilled H-2B visas for FY 2020 via Twitter while the meeting was taking place.

For now, the issue is still up in the air, and the NumbersUSA Action Alert to fax or call Senators is probably better implemented closer to the Supreme Court’s decision, expected in June.

# # #

Amnesty: here we go again

This is an Action Alert.  Following Mick Mulvaney’s remarks on immigration (see below), NumbersUSA issued the following:

Republican Senators are hoping to take up an amnesty bill passed by the House last December that also expands guest worker programs; White House says it’s “listening” to these proposals.

News reports this week brought attention to a push in Congress to pass an amnesty for illegal aliens working in the agricultural industry, which would in effect create an indentured servitude program, allowing illegal aliens to gain green cards in return for a period of service working an ag-related job.

According to a story in Politico by Anita Kumar on Wednesday, the White House “has been in talks with Senators” hoping to convince the President to back amnesty legislation.

Last December, the House passed the mis-titled Farm Workforce Modernization Act, introduced by Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.).

You will find the NumbersUSA fact sheet for the bill here. And Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, wrote up his take at National Review (“Farming Like It’s 1699.”)

In the Senate, Republicans Lindsay Graham (S.C.) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) are leading efforts in that chamber to pass legislation along the lines of Rep. Lofgren’s bill, with indications the Senators would like to expand guest worker programs for other industries. The senior Senator from South Carolina is well-deserving of his nickname “Grahamnesty,” though, to his credit, he has always been upfront about his aims to provide U.S. employers with a continual flow of low-wage labor from abroad. Tillis has never had Graham’s national visibility, but he, too, has been a reliable advocate for amnesty and expanded guest worker programs.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.), who has emerged in the House as a strong voice for enforcement, sent a letter to Senator Graham on Tuesday:

I write to urge that any immigration reform measures undertaken in the Senate, for Agriculture workers or otherwise, focus expressly and solely on actual and desperately needed immigration reform. There should be no amnesty considered as we should be squarely focused on re-establishing actual operational control of our border, which we currently do not have. – - Rep. Chip Roy

Kumar points out that amnesty and expanded guest worker programs go against pledges made by President Trump on the 2016 campaign trial, and reiterated after he took office. She also wrote that:

A White House official confirmed the ongoing negotiations on the guest worker proposal and said the effort is an attempt to generate action on a smaller immigration proposal after a larger one stalled and won few adherents.

“We’ve also been listening to stakeholders,” the official said. “We’ve also developed points of view on what the temporary system should look like.”

Journalists have written a lot about how the Trump Administration wants to decrease immigration, and some have even claimed the administration has already achieved this end, often conflating legal admissions with illegal entries. It remains an open question whether the President truly supports that goal.

While he endorsed the RAISE Act in 2017, President Trump more recently said that America “needs workers” and he would like to see “the largest numbers ever” of legal immigrants.

The President isn’t always precise in his language, and he must be given credit for steps taken to secure the border, though he has not pressured Congress to pass mandatory E-Verify. However, just this week Acting White House Chief of State Mick Mulvaney was quoted as saying this:

“We are desperate – desperate – for more people….We are running out of people to fuel the economic growth that we’ve had in our nation over the last four years. We need more immigrants.”

Wages are finally started to rise for workers at the lower end of the pay-scale. It is for this reason, and not because of any labor shortages, that employers are now “desperate” for immigration increases.

Mr. Mulvaney referenced “immigrants,” not “legal immigrants. NumbersUSA recommends that citizens

Take action: Urge President Trump to Abandon Amnesty and Guest Worker Expansion Plans!

White House comment line: 202-456-1111

Switchboard: 202-456-1414

# # #

Stop the Amnesty bill. Again.

NumbersUSA sent out an alert (and I’ve cut out the sections asking for contributions); should you want to explore their website, click here.  Here's an edited message:

House Passes Amnesty for More than One Million Illegal Aliens

The House of Representatives last week passed a massive, new amnesty for well over a million illegal aliens. That's bad news, no matter how you spin it. But there is some good news: Our members and allies made enough of an uproar about it that we minimized Republican support for the bill. We may have changed Republican leaders' minds about passing it.

We're not surprised we couldn't outright defeat the bill in the Democrat-controlled House. And It had been shocking to see dozens of Republicans falling over themselves to support this bill. Some people thought up to HALF of House Republicans -- maybe even Donald Trump -- would support the bill. The following quote was typical of a certain kind of Republican Representative:

"This [Ag Jobs bill] is exactly the kind of 'merit-based' immigration reform President Trump has been calling for.

"I spoke directly with President Trump about the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and the need for a solution for our farmers. He agreed: We must provide relief now."

-- U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, Yakima Herald, Dec 8, 2019

. . .

[NumbersUSA supporters] clobbered the Washington phone lines, and just about everyone who hadn't already voiced support for the bill backed away, Republican leaders "whipped" their members for "no" votes, and even a few co-sponsors changed their minds.

I want to be clear what just happened here: We've sapped much of the energy out of Republican supporters of this amnesty. But while NumbersUSA and its members threw a punch, it was NOT a knock-out blow for this bill. It may take another huge round of activism to finally put this bill to rest.

We made headlines that this is an amnesty... and THAT was crucial.

. . .

We have strong hopes that this bill will not be brought up for a vote if we push hard enough against it. But your Senators need to hear from you. . .

* * *

Here are details for Ohio's Senators:

Sen. Rob Portman:  Ohio toll free 1-800-205-6446 or by email here

Sen. Sherrod Brown: (202) 224-2315 (DC) or (216) 522 7272 (Cleveland)

# # #

Alert: Amnesty Passes House Judiciary Committee

NumbersUSA sent out an Alert today: "Republican Buy-In Makes Amnesty Real Threat." Much of the message contained a pitch for contributions; I deleted those sections, although if you are interested, the NumbersUSA website is here. Here’s the Alert:

This morning, the House Judiciary Committee passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. That would mean the bill can now be voted on by the House with little additional warning. . . and with 23 Republican Co-sponsors, it's likely to pass.

I bet a lot of people might wonder why the Judiciary Committee is passing a farm workforce bill. It's because this bill is really an immigration bill.

We need to stop this bill.

Here's why they don't just call it an immigration bill: There are none of the good immigration reforms American voters are demanding, such as requiring E-Verify for every U.S. employer and eliminating chain migration. There's only more immigration and more amnesties.

• There's no reduction in immigration numbers.
• There's no end to the visa lottery.
• There's no reform of asylum or refugee laws.
• And there's no mandatory E-Verify for any but a tiny proportion of employers... who are going to get all the low-paid, indentured servants they can handle anyway.

Indentured servitude! -- THAT'S what this bill is about: using amnesty to provide indentured servants to the groups like the Western Growers Association. That's because it gives hundreds of thousands of workers -- and their families -- amnesty and green cards... after they work four to eight years as what amounts to indentured servants first.

Once the illegal farm workers get their amnesty, they would be free to take any job in America, not just farm jobs. On top of that, an additional 40,000 new green cards each year would be issued for unskilled workers to work in ANY job they can get in America.

Please don't write off this threat as merely coming from extremists in the House. It has overwhelming support from the Democratic caucus, and almost two dozen Republican House members are co-sponsoring. So, especially with the impeachment battle, it's hard to take anything for granted.

We're going to need hundreds of thousands of our members to contact Congress. For that to happen, we're going to need to activate our millions of activists, with millions upon millions of emails and social media messages. We've just finished a vital overhaul of our website, allowing much easier access to actions while maintaining security and discretion. 

Two Ohio Representatives are on the Judiciary Committee: Steve Chabot [https://chabot.house.gov/] and Jim Jordan [https://jordan.house.gov/]. Click here for the full House of Representatives roster and contact information.

# # #

Agriculture amnesty bill

Bronson Stocking at Townhall reports on yet another push for amnesty in the House:

Lawmakers have forgotten the lessons of the previous amnesties, or they are hoping the American people have. Yesterday [Weds.], a bipartisan group of House members introduced the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019. Like the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, the new bill claims it will only apply to a limited number of illegal-alien agricultural workers, and it promises tougher employment verifications in the future. These are the same broken promises politicians made when they passed amnesty back in 1986. 

Via Neil Munro at Breitbart:

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is opposing the bill. “The name of this mass amnesty bill name should be changed to the Mandatory Farm Labor Act of 2019,” FAIR said.

NumbersUSA just sent out an update on the bill:

Agriculture amnesty bill to include weak E-Verify provision

A bipartisan group of House Members has introduced a new agricultural amnesty bill that includes a new twist from past ag amnesties -- a provision that requires farmers but nobody else to use E-Verify. The E-Verify provision isn't enough, however, to hide the fact that this will be an amnesty for millions of illegal ag workers and encourage more illegal immigration.

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act, H.R. 4916, was introduced on Wednesday. The official text has yet to be released, so we don't know all the details. But here's what lead sponsor Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) says the bill would do:

Establish a program for agricultural workers in the United States to earn legal status through continued agricultural employment and contribution to the U.S. agricultural economy.

Reform the H-2A program to provide more flexibility for employers, while ensuring critical protections for workers. The bill focuses on modifications to make the program more responsive and user-friendly for employers and provides access to the program for industries with year-round labor needs.

Establish mandatory, nationwide E-Verify system for all agricultural employment with a structured phase-in and guaranteed due process for authorized workers who are incorrectly rejected by the system.

NumbersUSA's Director of Government Relations, Rosemary Jenks, issued the following statement:

Congress tried amnesty as a solution to large numbers of illegal agricultural workers in 1986 with the Immigration Reform and Control Act. As predicted, it failed because the workers left agriculture for easier, better-paying jobs as soon as they got their amnesty, and illegal immigration actually increased thanks to the promise of future amnesties. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act will have the same result: amnestied aliens competing with Americans for non-farm jobs; and more illegal immigration incentivized by amnesty. Moreover, by mandating E-Verify only for agricultural employers, it will actually encourage more illegal aliens to compete with American workers and legal immigrants for non-farm jobs, where E-Verify is not required.

Last year, House lawmakers considered advancing legislation that would require all employers in the U.S. to use E-Verify in exchange for reforming the H-2A agricultural guest worker program. The legislation did allow current illegal ag workers to apply for the new guest worker program, but did not provide an opportunity for permanent amnesty like the Farm Workforce Modernization Act promises to do.

The most concerning aspect of H.R. 4916 is that 44 U.S. Representatives from both sides of the aisle have signed on as original cosponsors.

[NumbersUSA will] continue to monitor the legislation and will post actions after Congress returns from its current recess and we have been able to read and analyze all the details.

# # #

Rep. Marcia Fudge is on the wrong side. Again.

photo credit: www.essence.com

NumbersUSA is urging Cleveland area voters to call Rep. Marcia Fudge at 202-225-3121 to DEMAND a vote on H.R. 3056 to end the border crisis. Speaker Pelosi has thus far refused to bring the Act to the floor. The talking point:

H.R. 3056 is the Border Crisis Supplemental Appropriations Act, to deal with the ongoing border crisis. I urge you to demand an immediate floor vote on this badly needed spending package! This crisis has gone on long enough, and it's time for Congress to act.

I have to wonder whether Rep. Fudge and her staff pay any attention to Tea Party people, but it’s probably worth the couple of minutes on the phone.

Here's more. In an op-ed piece at American Greatness, Candace Owens warns Trump voters to not become complacent – and she provides a few examples (out of zillions) of rage, hatred, and hysteria from the Progressive Left:

Just last week Congresswoman Marcia Fudge described Trump voters as “either racist, steeped in religious beliefs, ignorant, or, as my mother used to say, just plain dumb.”

These people are not trying to retake control of the White House merely to advance their agenda. They want to punish the Americans who made them look like fools in 2016.

This new breed of Democrats cheer as the social media giants silence and eliminate any voice that opposes them or threatens the monopoly liberal journalists have over the flow of information. They’re prepared to pack the courts, let 16-year-olds vote, and even eliminate the Electoral College in order to help them win. They’re already talking about the prospect of the election being “stolen” by “racism,” which gives a pretty good indication of the strategy they plan to fall back on if they lose again.

In short, they will do anything they can to destroy our coalition and make sure the humiliation of 2016 can never happen again.

(Full article is here.) Spot the racist and the dummy. And maybe give her a call.

# # #

Congress going rogue: Action Alert

NumbersUSA has the legislative update for next week:

House Democrats are poised to vote on an enormous appropriations bill that will fund a great deal of federal spending next year. It covers the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Education, Labor, State, and others.

This funding bill contains language that UNDERMINES AND EVEN REVERSES efforts already being made to tighten enforcement and end the border crisis. NumbersUSA has already urged House Members to oppose the bill. We warned them that we will score against this action in our Immigration Gradecards. These grade cards are read by hundreds of thousands of our activists. They sort out those that merely pay lip service to enforcement from those who actually vote to reduce immigration.

The NumbersUSA scoring notice sent to Congress states, "House Democrats, however, aren't content with the utter collapse of our entire immigration infrastructure, and instead are using this bill to actively obstruct the Administration's efforts to deal with the crisis on the southern border."

The bill, H.R. 2740, contains these outrageous provisions:

Blocks any federal funds from any source whatever from being used to construct "border security infrastructure." This includes blocking the wall/fencing money appropriated by Congress even earlier this year! But H.R. 2740 provides funding to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Tunisia to protect their borders.

Rewards illegal immigration by making DACA recipients eligible to take federal jobs.

Protects and rewards the illegal alien sponsors of unaccompanied alien children by blocking ICE from working with HHS to deport the illegal alien sponsors. Many of these sponsors are directly involved in human trafficking.

By obstructing efforts to control the border and enforce immigration laws, his bill could help strengthen Mexican drug cartels, which control the entire Mexican side of the Southern border.

The House is pursuing this ruinous course despite border apprehensions exploding, up by another third in May compared to April. Over 144,000 were apprehended in May. Reuters reports the makeup of the arrests: "While the vast majority of undocumented migrants arriving in the United States are from Central America, significant numbers have been arriving in recent months from Cuban and Haiti, via Panama, and from African countries, often via Brazil."

The Capitol switchboard number is:

(202) 224-3121

# # #

ACTION ALERT: DACA rearing its head again / and UPDATE

UPDATE from NumbersUSA:

Thursday afternoon, Vice President Mike Pence announced that Pres. Trump would not sign off on such a deal. Politico reported: 

Vice President Mike Pence and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney had been consulting with senators about the matter on Thursday. Pence and Mulvaney took the idea to the president, who shot it down, according to multiple people directly involved in the talks. 

Again, thanks to all of the NumbersUSA activists who took action to help quell this threat!

Any calls that you made have made a difference!

-----------

The latest from NumbersUSA:

Gang of 8 sponsor, Sen. Lindsey Graham, working on DACA amnesty deal –

Urge Senate Republicans to oppose!

Amnesty-supporter, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), met with several other Senate Republicans and Pres. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on Wednesday to draw up an 'Amnesty-for-Wall' deal that they will pitch to Senate Democrats today [i.e., yesterday].

Voters didn't elect Donald Trump to the White House back in 2016 to pass an amnesty. They elected him because he was strong on enforcement and understood mass immigration's harmful impacts on American workers and their quality of life.

We need your urgent phone calls to senate republicans urging them to oppose any deal that trades border funding for amnesty!

Here is the number for your GOP Senator(s):

Sen. Rob Portman -- (202) 224-3353

You can also call the White House and tell Pres. Trump not to support an amnesty-for-wall deal!

WH Comment Line -- (202) 456-1111

It’s always good to have a better alternative when you are the phone or leaving a message. Here’s CTP's Ralph King’s suggested alternative (from his social media):

Instead of contemplating a deal of backdoor amnesty for DACA DREAMERS in exchange for Wall Funding, President Trump & the so-called "conservatives" in Congress should be pushing for Mandatory E-Verify.....

“Of all of the proposals, however, E-Verify would be the most effective at curbing illegal entries and limiting non-immigrant overstays. And the president could likely make it mandatory through executive action,” added Arthur, now a legal expert with the Center for Immigration Studies.

The push for the simple employment verification system, currently a voluntary opt-in for non-government contractors, comes after Immigration and Customs Enforcement revealed stunning new statistics of workplace enforcement investigations.

# # #

Caravan crossing the U.S.-Mexico border

From today’s NumbersUSA newsletter:

Thousands of Central Americans joined a caravan this week, originating in Honduras, with hopes of reaching the U.S.-Mexico border where they plan to claim asylum, illegally enter the country, or both.

Pres. Trump has already issued warnings to Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, and has threatened to back out of the USMCA trade pact with Mexico if the country doesn't do its part to prevent the caravan from reaching the U.S. border. There are reports that Mexico is willing to cooperate.

The President has also said that he plans to move troops to the border to help prevent the caravan from entering the country.

So far, the Administration has responded well. But how it responds if, and when, the caravan reaches the U.S.-Mexico border remains to be seen.

If there's one thing that we've learned from past caravans and border surges, should any of the more than 4,000 economic migrants successfully make it into the United States, they'll be released to the interior of the country and never be heard from again.

Therefore, the best action the Trump Administration can take is to prevent anyone from the caravan from actually entering the country. Pres. Trump could even use his executive authority to shut down the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent the caravan from entering the U.S.

Handling Asylum Claims

Many in the caravan have told reporters that they plan on claiming asylum once they reach the United States, hoping to take advantage of loopholes within the process. 

They've said they'll claim asylum because of the criminal violence throughout Central America and/or the lack of decent paying jobs. But under federal law, those are not reasons for claiming asylum.

Under both U.S. and international law, an asylee is someone who claims that they fear persecution from their government if returned to their home country because of the their "race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion."

If the caravan was actually fleeing persecution, they would apply for asylum in Mexico.

The U.S. should take all legitimate asylum claims seriously. But it is critical to deny the caravan admission into the United States while their claims are being considered. Again, once anyone from the caravan steps foot in the United States, they're here for good. DHS is already running short on detention space, so there will be no way to detain illegal border crossers and asylum seekers while their cases move through the process.

Preventing caravans and surges

The Trump Administration has already taken steps to strengthen the asylum process. Earlier this year, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a ruling that moved the adjudication of credible fear claims more in line with federal asylum law. DHS implemented the policy this summer. However, if the Administration does not take the necessary steps to prevent this caravan from reaching U.S. soil, this dangerous and unlawful migration will be the new norm.

But Congress also needs to act. The House Judiciary Committee has already marked up and passed H.R. 391, the Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act. House Leadership should bring the bill to the floor during the lame-duck session.

H.R. 391 would close the asylum loopholes by requiring that asylum adjudicators only approve credible fear claims when "it is more probable than not that the statements made by the alien in support of the alien's claim are true" and the alien is likely to be granted asylum in the U.S.

[The NumbersUSA website is here. You can sign up to access their Congressional Alert boards.]

# # #

Update: amnesty legislation

From NumbersUSA:

Last night, House GOP Leaders announced that they will hold two immigration votes next week -- one on Rep. Bob Goodlatte's H.R. 4760, the Securing America's Future Act. and the other on a compromise bill still being negotiated.

The details are light. It's possible that the version of the Goodlatte bill that reaches the floor is quite different from the one that NumbersUSA endorsed earlier this year. And we don't know the full details of the compromise bill, but we can say with near certainty that it won't reduce overall immigration numbers or mandate E-Verify.

Please be on the lookout for action alerts early next week as the details become more clear.

It seems that the GOPe Uniparty and RINO Paul Ryan are determined to ram some sort of amnesty bill down our throats. But President Trump has a pen.

# # #

Becoming a United States citizen in 1903

The document above granted United States citizenship to a German immigrant named Matthias Moskopp, and it was handed down to his descendants. It was one of his prized possessions.

I can only imagine the sense of pride, gratitude, and reverence that this man felt when he recited his first Pledge of Allegiance [correction: the Pledge was not made until 1942. In 1903, the applicant would have recited the Oath of Allegiance.] This man was my great-grandfather. And he would have been horrified at the illegal immigration that we are all trying to stop.

According to NumbersUSA, Congress is inching toward putting amnesty back on the legislative agenda (Update here). NumbersUSA VP Jim Robb reported yesterday that only 5 more GOP representatives were needed to fulfill the requirement for the discharge petition, which would increase the risk of a vote on amnesty that most Americans do not want.

# # #

Amnesty Threat. Again. Alert!

image credit: www,cafepresscom

Late yesterday, NumbersUSA sent out an Action Alert. Below is a lightly edited copy of the Alert:

RED ALERT!
AMNESTY THREAT!

Republican faction working with Democrats to force vote on Amnesty-only bills, need only 7 more GOP signatures

Majority Whip Scalise pushes Goodlatte bill instead.

… some renegade House Republicans are … trying to force votes on an Amnesty-only bill, using a "discharge petition." If they can get one half of all Representatives to sign -- all Democrats plus just twenty-five Republicans -- they can pass an Amnesty-only bill, despite Speaker Paul Ryan's objections.

Already 18 House Republicans have signed the discharge petition that will force a vote on several Amnesty bills. They have only 7 Republican signatures to go!! We have to intervene right now!!

Make your calls [phone numbers appended below]. Send your messages. This fight could be over in just a few days.  

If these renegade House Republicans get their intended outcome, there will be no end to chain migration. Annual migration will continue at one million per year. 

Businesses will be able to hire illegal workers. The Trump administration will be forced to continue catch-and-release, while migrants play games with our asylum system. The visa lottery will continue. And enforcement of our immigration laws will likely continue to be handicapped by open-borders activist judges.

Remember, people who want amnesties are ever watchful. If we nod off for five minutes, they're on us.

You may be asking yourself, "How could something this awful come up so quickly?" A little background:

For a couple of weeks, Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) has said he would try to force a vote on Amnesty bills. Why? He may lose his re-election race this fall, and he and other immigration-expansionist Republicans are anxious to burnish their Amnesty-loving credentials. Just about every House Democrat appears ready to support this move, if there are enough Republican votes.

[NumbersuSA’s] Rosemary Jenks denounced the discharge petition in the press: "There is a small group of so-called Republicans in the House who are willing to destroy the Republican Party in a delusional attempt to safeguard their own seats. It is lunacy, absolute lunacy," she said.

She continued, "How is assisting a big fat amnesty with zero enforcement -- while we are in the middle of a border crisis! -- [going to] help them get reelected? They are delusional. It is a slap in the face to [GOP] leadership, assuming that leadership does not want to pass a big fat amnesty and that is not a very safe assumption."

The discharge petition would force a resolution to the floor that would allow votes on several proposed DREAM-style Amnesties. Even if a good compromise bill were to get a majority, the bill with the most votes would be sent to the Senate.

The good news is that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise is pushing back against the insurrection. "We have a regular process that we've been working through and Goodlatte-McCaul, I still think, is the right answer to the problem -- I'm a co-sponsor of the bill," he said.

As reported in Politico earlier today, Speaker Ryan urged fellow Republicans to draft a bill in line with the White House's immigration priorities: "We actually want to solve this problem, so that's why we want to come up with a solution that the president will support."

<snip>

Here are the numbers for GOP House Leadership team:

House Speaker Paul Ryan -- (202) 225-0600

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy -- (202) 225-4000

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise -- (202) 225-0197

House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers -- (202) 225-5107

# # #

Amnesty vote in Congress ~ Alert!

UPDATE: 5:53pm (posted at 6:37 pm) from NumbersUSA media release:

NumbersUSA and its 9 million activists are pleased that the Senate rejected all three amnesty proposals that came to the floor today for a vote. Every proposal under consideration put the interests of illegal aliens and foreign citizens ahead of the interests of American workers, American communities, and national security. Americans can not afford for Congress to grant amnesty without immediately ending Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery and mandating E-Verify.

UPDATE: 4:32 pm from The Hill:

The Senate has rejected legislation based on President Trump's framework for an immigration deal in a 39-60 vote on Thursday, leaving an uncertain path forward for Congress with nearly a million immigrants sheltered by an Obama-era program face the prospect of deportation.

The measure spearheaded by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) needed 60 votes to clear a filibuster, but failed to meet the mark.

It was the fourth proposal in a row rejected by the Senate on Thursday afternoon, and it received the fewest votes of support. All three other measures won more than 50 votes.

UPDATE 3:10 pm from The Hill:

Senate rejects first bipartisan measure as immigration votes begin

The Senate has rejected an immigration measure sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Christopher Coons (D-Del.) that did not include money for President Trump’s border wall.

The proposal is the first of four that the Senate will vote on Thursday, though each appears short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This Action Alert is from NumbersUSA [emphasis color in original]:

As [of] noon on Thursday, the Senate is considering not only granting amnesty to every illegal immigrant already in the country, but to any illegal immigrants who can get here by June!

Could anything express more contempt for American voters than this? Incredibly, this bill is rumored to have 65 supporters in the Senate; it already has EIGHT Republican co-sponsors!

The Senate is debating immigration proposals all day TODAY and through the end of this week. So far, it looks to be one horrible bill after the other. (One exception would be the amendment from Pennsylvania's Sen. Toomey, which directs actions against sanctuary cities.)

KEEP CHECKING YOUR EMAIL FOR ACTION ALERTS -- THE SITUATION IS CHANGING HOURLY! [NOTE: Or check this website for Updates.]

Our best hope may be that the Senate defeats ALL its current proposals. Then, if that happens, we will press hard to have the House take up the Goodlatte bill, H.R. 4760, that we've endorsed.

. . .

There is GOOD news on the House side. We've learned that House Republican leaders are doing a "whip count" on the Goodlatte bill. This is such great news, because this is the NumbersUSA-endorsed bill that mandates E-Verify for every employer, cancels chain migration, and eliminates the visa lottery.

A whip count means they will be more likely to bring the bill up for a vote if it seems to have enough support to pass. So, obviously we're now pouring lots more resources into the House fight as well as our Senate efforts.

. . . None of the Senate measures would prevent pressure for future amnesties by requiring all employers to use E-Verify or reduce the size of the amnesty by ending Chain Migration in the near term. Mandatory E-Verify and an immediate end to Chain Migration must be part of any DACA deal!

1) The Schumer-Collins-Rounds-King Proposal -- This is biggest threat, an amnesty to EVERY ILLEGAL ALIEN IN AMERICA, INCLUDING ALL THOSE WHO CAN SNEAK IN BY JUNE 30, while it guts interior enforcement! And it may actually have the most support.

2) The White House Proposal -- Sens. Chuck Grassley and John Cornyn have drafted legislation that reflects the White House DACA proposal. It would expand DACA to grant an immediate amnesty to approximately 1.8 million illegal aliens. It calls for a $25 billion trust fund to build the border wall and improve overall border security. It would eliminate the Visa Lottery and halt new applications for Chain Migration, but it uses those supposedly eliminated visas to bring in the backlog of more than 4 million foreigners, which could take 15-20 years.

3) Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) propose granting amnesty to 3.2 million illegal aliens without any concrete steps to reduce immigration or improve enforcement at all.

One piece of good news is that the White House publicly rejected the McCain-Coons approach yesterday. 

It's hard to see how most of these bills are a "compromise." . . .

Call Ohio Senators: 

Sen. Rob Portman --    (888) 995-2089

Sen. Sherrod Brown -- (888) 995-2018

 See a report by Ed Morrisey at Hot Air here.

# # #