Immigration Suspension Urged During Congressional Testimony

Immigration Suspension Urged During Congressional Testimony
Thursday, November 19, 2009, 7:45 PM EST - posted on NumbersUSA


In a congressional forum Thursday, NumbersUSA President Roy Beck urged Members of Congress to immediately introduce and pass legislation to suspend most immigration in light of the nation's 10.2% U-3 unemployment rate.

Also testifying were Dr. Steven Camarota, Vanderbilt Political Science professor Dr. Carol Swain, and Jerry Kammer who won a Pulitzer Prize as an investigative reporter with the Copley News Service. All provided evidence that unemployment among Americans is so bad that there is no doubt that every job emptied by pushing an illegal foreign worker out of it would quickly be filled by an American.

House Immigration Subcommittee Ranking Member Steve King (R-Iowa) and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) led the forum. Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) offered several rounds of questioning and said he wondered why the United States should take ANY immigrants right now unless they were absolutely needed for a specific job.

Dr. Swain's testimony focused on the impact immigration, specifically illegal immigration, had on Black and Hispanic Americans.

In the current economic environment, many Americans are suffering from unemployment, job displacement, and stagnant or declining wages. But, no group suffers more than native-born blacks and Hispanics who have a high school education or less. ...

If we expand and mandate E-Verify, we make it possible for more native-born workers to achieve the American Dream for themselves and their families. We make it possible for more native-born Americans to achieve the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness that our Forefathers saw as a fundamental right.

-- Dr. Carol Swain

Dr. Camarota's testimony focused on the fact that there is no evidence of a worker shortage at the bottom end of the labor market. He also said that there is a huge supply of less-educated workers, and it's that group that's been most affected by the current job recession.

The big losers (with high numbers of immigration) are natives working in lower-wage jobs that require relatively little education. ... The latest research indicates that we can reduce immigration secure in the knowledge that it will not harm the economy.

-- Dr. Steven Camarota

Kammer's testimony focused on the positive impact that worksite enforcement raids have had on American workers. He talked about how the raid at the world's largest pork processing plant in Smithfield, North Carolina freed up jobs for African Americans.

In the early-1990s, most workers there were African Americans/ But this changed during that decade, as the workforce became majority Hispanic. There is strong evidence that the company had a preference for illegal immigrants because they were more likely to accept low wages and poor working conditions. ... The 2007 raids at Tar Heel removed man illegal workers. Vacancies were soon filled by African Americans, who were less subject to intimidation by the company.

-- Jerry Kammer

We'll have more coverage of today's forum in the coming days...

http://www.numbersusa.com/content/news/ ... imony.html