Thread: Byrd Works to Stop Massive Immigration Expansion

http://www.huntingtonnews.net/state/051 ... -byrd.html

Nov. 3, 2005

Byrd Works to Stop Massive Immigration Expansion; Move Would Also Protect U.S. Jobs

By HNN Staff

Washington, DC (HNN) – U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., is leading a bipartisan group of Senators in an effort to stop a vast increase in immigration visa permits.

"Immigration is an issue that demands the attention of the Congress, and, regretfully, we have been told that tougher enforcement actions will have to wait until next year. And so, imagine the surprise of Senators to find provisions buried deep, deep in this budget bill that would authorize the U.S. Government to issue more than 350,000 additional immigrant visas each year to foreign laborers seeking to live and work permanently in the United States," Byrd said during debate on Wednesday.

The government grants permanent residency to approximately 1 million immigrants each year. Byrd is working to block provisions that would raise that number by one third -- a massive destabilizing increase.

"It is baffling. If we don’t have the time to address the illegal immigration that threatens our national security, then how do we explain to the American people that we somehow found the time to raise the level of imported labor each year?" Byrd asked.

Byrd offered an amendment that would strike the escalation in visa permits. Many have expressed concern that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration and border security issues, is not in a position to handle the increased H-1B visas that Senator Byrd is trying to stop. In fact, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported that the Department of Homeland Security cannot estimate how many people are already in the United States on H-1B visas because of inadequate tracking systems. The Byrd amendment has garnered the support of many labor unions, which are concerned that such a flood of new visas would mean fewer jobs for American workers.

"It’s bad enough that so many American jobs are moving overseas, and wages and benefits here at home are being curtailed to compete with third-world labor and unfair trade practices. Now, these provisions would make it more likely that working Americans will find themselves in competition with foreign labor for work in their own country," Byrd said.

In a letter to all Senators, the group "United for a Secure America" urged support for the Byrd amendment.

"United to Secure America, representing our nation’s leading immigration reform organizations with hundreds of thousands of members and supporters throughout the country, strongly urges you to support the amendment to the Reconciliation bill expected to be offered today by Senator Byrd to delete provisions that would in effect sell over 368,000 American jobs annually to foreign workers and their families who would be allowed to move permanently to the United States and take Americans’ jobs," the letter said.

A vote on the Byrd amendment is expected Thursday, Nov. 3, 2005.

The amendment is another step in Byrd’s efforts to try to ensure that America’s immigration system is not overwhelmed and that the government is able to enforce the laws on the books. Five hundred new agents are guarding America’s borders because of legislation that Byrd and Republican Senator Larry Craig of Idaho guided through the Congress in May.

Well the Byrd Admendment went down the hill. 14 for it and 85 against it.

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