NTF Issue paper: illegal160.doc. 8-19.
NEBRASKA TAXPAYERS FOR FREEDOM ISSUE PAPER:
STOP END RUN AMNESTY PROGRAM WITH HR 3899.
BACKGROUND. Socialist Democrats in Congress want to pursue an amnesty program under the guise of a refugee program. The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) initiative initiated in order to grant refugees from political turmoil or natural disasters temporary refuge in the U.S. until those conditions settled, and then they could return home.
THE PROBLEM. However, many of these refugees, with encouragement from Socialist Dems, refuse to leave and remain in the U.S., where they consume welfare or take jobs from American citizens. A significant reason why wages in those occupations have stagnated is the supply of labor bloated by the government allowing businesses to import and entice tens of millions of both legal and illegal immigrants. TPS has become a permanent protection from deportation for foreign nationals here. Before the Trump Administration, not one TPS grantee forced to exit. Over 400,000 of these illegal aliens now reside across our nation. 250,000 Salvadoran illegals scheduled to exit last autumn, after TPS granted them in 2001 because of an earthquake, illegal aliens from Honduras and Nicaragua residing here after Hurricane Mitch struck in 1999, and hundreds of Somalis receiving TPS in 1991 because of warfare, all still here. Under the Obama Regime, illegal aliens caught by ICE won TPS. This program filled with abuse because of aliens lying about reasons for fleeing here and begs reform. TPS aliens can obtain work permits, SS numbers, drivers licenses, and welfare payments. Providing work permits and licenses is like winning the lottery. It enables illegals to establish community roots and makes it politically difficult to ever return them home. Reasons given for automatic renewal seem unbelievable. The Obama Regime extended Honduran TPS because of a coffee rust epidemic and increase in malaria. No TPS grants terminated yet because of grace periods given. TPS has become virtual amnesty. The Trump Administration finally moving to terminate this status for all TPS recipients.
THE BILL. Conservative Rep. Mo Brooks (AL.) introduced HR 3899 in response to a plan by House Socialist Democrats to grant thousands of Venezuelans eligibility for TPS. His bill currently is in the House Judiciary Committee. It requires a House vote to approve someone for TPS and establishes strict but reasonable maximum lengths of stay. This bill would allow refugee Venezuelans under TPS to remain for only 18 months. HR 3899 would remove automatic TPS protection from illegal aliens, prohibit a president from designating permanent TPS, and return that authority to Congress, so that future presidents could not abuse it. The TPS law now permits a president to continue renewing this temporary status indefinitely. We must change the law, so that an administration can grant TPS, but an extension would require a vote of Congress. Such would make continual extensions more difficult and establish political accountability.
OUR REASONING. Our immigration laws should not reward illegal aliens coming here, regardless of political upheavals or natural cataclysms in their homelands. Experience proves that such rewarding only encourages further illegal immigration. Temporary should not mean permanent Illegal aliens welcome our offer of humanitarian outreach via TPS, but they have no intention to leave after their status expires.
SUPPORT. Conservative immigration organizations like Numbers USA and Federation for American Immigration Reform support HR 3899, together with several national conservative groups. 64% of Democrat likely voters say it is important to “require that all employers use the government’s electronic E-Verify system to ensure only legal workers can obtain jobs.” Among independents, 78% say mandating E-Verify is important (Pulse Opinion Research poll, 2019).
TAKE ACTION NOW. Restoring the “temporary” to TPS is an important part of a restoration of credibility. Passing this bill not only will prevent future masses of temporary refugees from permanently settling here but also allow deportation of these temporary visitors who only reluctantly will leave. Using the information above, contact your representative today to co-sponsor HR 3899 and vote for the bill.
Email netaxpayers@gmail.com for Capitol Hill contact information and to join our NTF Congress Watch Project.
Research, documentation, and analysis for this issue paper done by Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom. This material copyrighted by Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom, with express prior permission granted for its use by other groups in the NE Conservative Coalition Network. 8-19. C