NumbersUSA: Tuesday Amnesty Update
From: Anne Manetas, Deputy Director, NumbersUSA
Date: 20MAY08 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday Amnesty Battle: Keep The Pressure On
Tuesday Game Plan: Keep the Faxes and Phone Calls Going
Dear opponents of amnesty and other rewards for illegal immigration,
You are making a difference. We broke a record for number of faxes ordered yesterday and our sources inside Capitol Hill are reporting an increased awareness of opposition to the AgJOBS amnesty among Congressional offices.
186,568 faxes were ordered yesterday!
23,185 faxes were ordered in one four-hour period!
We have not turned the corner, but if we can keep that sort of pressure on Congress all week, we have a shot at beating back the AgJOBS amnesty for up to 3 million illegal aliens. We are in much the same position as we were in yesterday. Our job right now is to make sure that every Senate office understands that their constituents strongly oppose the AgJOBS amnesty.
It all depends on you. Our Action Buffet team is busy posting new actions on your Action Buffet corkboard. Please go there immediately and send the faxes and make the phone calls we've posted on your Action Buffet .
If you have never called a Congressional office, today is the day to start. It is easy and only takes a few minutes of your time. Please call your two Senators today to express your opposition to the AgJOBS amnesty.
202-224-3121
NEED PRESSURE ON THE HOUSE TOO
Those of you who have a U.S. Representative who is on the House Appropriations Committee or is a member of the House Leadership will be seeing special fax and phone opportunities today as well.
We are hearing some disturbing reports of movement in some House offices to support the AgJOBS amnesty. We must stop this before it gains traction in the House. Your keeping the pressure on your Senators is also sending an important message to the House.
BACKGROUND
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 17-12 to attach an amnesty to the Iraq supplemental spending bill. The amendment that passed provides a 5-year visa for up to 1.35 million illegal agricultural workersbut the cap of 1.35 million does not include spouses and children, who would bring the total amnesty to a total of about 3 million.
Rosemary Jenks (Vice President, Government Relations) has outlined the most egregious aspects of the amnesty here. You wont want to talk about the AgJOBS amnesty without reading this first. Find it online here http://www.numbersusa.com/PDFs/AgJOBS_Amnesty_2008.pdf.
In short, the AgJOBS amendment would require the Department of Homeland Security to grant emergency agricultural worker status (i.e., amnesty) for up to five years to as many as 1.35 million illegal aliens, plus their spouses and children.
Last Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee added several immigration amendments to the version of the Iraq Supplemental they were marking up.
The immigration amendments include the Feinstein AgJOBS-lite amendment, which passed by a recorded vote of 17-12; and the Mikulski H-2B amendment which would, for the next three years, exempt from the annual cap of 66,000 any H-2B workers who were admitted during the previous three years. (The impact on the numbers could be exponential--they could rise from 66,000 in FY 2008 to over 400,000 by FY2011.) This passed by a recorded vote of 23-6!
On the same day, the House voted down its version of the Iraq Supplemental. Since all appropriations bill must originate in the House, the Senate cannot move their bill to the floor until the House passes a version and sends it to the Senate. A new Iraq Supplemental has not yet been put on the House floor schedule, but our Capitol Hill team expects that they will move one soon after their return on Tuesday.
The Senate has to wait for a House version of the bill which means it could come to a vote in the Senate as early as tomorrow or Thursday
That is why we are asking you right now and every day this week to go to your Action Buffet corkboard and take every AgJOBS-related action possible.
DONT GIVE UP
A national outcry against this amnesty is developing. You are the reason why. Although we are still unsure how this will all play out, we are determined to keep the pressure on Congress to block any amnesty until the final vote has occurred. Thank you for being a part of this most important national effort.
