Thread: Rep. Lamar Smith: Amnesty Makes No Sense

Rep. Lamar Smith Makes the Case for Unemployed Americans in Nation's Largest Paper

Monday, June 29, 2009, 2:24 PM

Representative Lamar Smith (R-Texas) had an op-ed published in Monday's edition of USA Today speaking up for the more than 14 million unemployed United States citizens. The letter was published in response to the USA Today editorial "Recession freezes immigration debate but points to answers" also published in Monday's paper.

Rep. Lamar Smith is a ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee and has a career grade of an A+ with a record of consistently standing up for American workers and reduced immigration levels.

"Congressman Lamar Smith has been fighting for sensible immigration since 1989, and with this op-ed he illustrates why I think he may now be at his greatest energy ever in fighting for the average American worker and community," said NumbersUSA President Roy Beck.

In Rep. Smith's op-ed, he wrote...

Unemployment hit 15.5% last month for American workers without high school diplomas. It makes no sense to give amnesty or a "path to citizenship" to millions of illegal immigrants who would compete with unemployed Americans for scarce jobs and drive down their wages.

... To achieve immigration reform, the choices are not just amnesty or mass deportation. A strategy of "attrition through enforcement" would dramatically reduce the number of illegal immigrants over time.

... Amnesty would cost Americans their jobs, depress wages, burden taxpayers and encourage even more illegal immigration. On the other hand, enforcing immigration laws would increase respect for the rule of law and reduce illegal immigration.

You can read Rep. Smith's full reply at USAToday.com. (please see printed below.)

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

Opposing view: Amnesty makes no sense

‘Attrition through enforcement’ is better way for immigration reform.

By Lamar Smith

Unemployment hit 15.5% last month for American workers without high school diplomas. It makes no sense to give amnesty or a "path to citizenship" to millions of illegal immigrants who would compete with unemployed Americans for scarce jobs and drive down their wages.

Amnesty would hurt American taxpayers. After illegal immigrants are legalized, they'd become eligible for federal, state and local taxpayer-funded benefits such as Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

Most illegal immigrants don't earn enough to pay taxes. Even when they do, the benefits they receive outweigh the taxes paid.

Amnesty would threaten to bankrupt Social Security. According to the Social Security Administration, most illegal immigrants who received amnesty would collect thousands of dollars more in benefits than they paid into the system.

Granting amnesty would increase illegal immigration. Since Congress passed the last "one-time" amnesty in 1986, the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has jumped to more than 12 million. Amnesty sends the message that if you just get into the country, even illegally, you can stay indefinitely.

Amnesty rewards illegal immigrants with the right to live and work in the U.S. That is unfair to the millions of legal immigrants who play by the rules, wait their turn and come in to the U.S. the right way. And selling amnesty to lawbreakers for the price of a fine would demean the value of the greatest honor our country can bestow: citizenship.

To achieve immigration reform, the choices are not just amnesty or mass deportation. A strategy of "attrition through enforcement" would dramatically reduce the number of illegal immigrants over time.

If the federal government enforced our immigration laws, especially those that target the employment of illegal workers, many illegal immigrants would simply return home because they can't get jobs. Others would never come to the USA in the first place because they would not be hired. A Zogby poll in 2006 found that a majority of voters prefer this approach over others.

Amnesty would cost Americans their jobs, depress wages, burden taxpayers and encourage even more illegal immigration. On the other hand, enforcing immigration laws would increase respect for the rule of law and reduce illegal immigration.

Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, is the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee.

Posted at 12:21 AM/ET, June 29, 2009 in USA TODAY editorial | Permalink
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/06/ ... sense.html

The American people don't want Amnesty, the Democratic party wants it.

Americans must fight this as hard as they possibly can and even if the gov't gives them Amnesty we must continue to fight to get them out of our country. It ain't gonna be over until they are ALL of of OUR soil.