Thread: NumbersUSA's Rosemary Jenks Testified Before Congress

NumbersUSA’s Rosemary Jenks Testifies Before Congress


(April 20) Rosemary Jenks, NumbersUSA’s Government Relations Director, testified Thursday before the House Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee on the shortfalls of the 1986 immigration reform legislation. She made a strong case for why we should not repeat the mistakes of the past.

The main thrust of her testimony was stressing that the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, or IRCA, failed to deter illegal immigration because it was an amnesty and that amnesties entice more people to break the law. She went on to point out that IRCA was based on two faulty premises that are still prevalent in today’s debate: (1) the only choices for dealing with the four million illegal aliens present at the time were either to order mass round-ups and deportations or to grant amnesty to most of them; and (2) our economy was dependent on the labor of illegal aliens. The first premise ignores a third, realistic option – Attrition Through Enforcement – which could have been chosen in 1986 and should be used today. The second premise disregards the fact that illegal aliens pose a net cost on our economy – as shown by a recently-released Heritage Foundation study – and that more than enough American workers would be available to do the work being done by illegal aliens if employers paid a decent wage.

Nearly all the open-borders Members of Congress admit that IRCA was an amnesty and that it utterly failed to slow down illegal immigration. Over the past year, they have attempted to mask their pro-amnesty leanings by claiming new “comprehensive reform” proposals will succeed because they:

Provide for greatly enhanced enforcement against future illegal immigration;
Increase the number of green cards for permanent legal workers so foreign workers won’t feel a need to come here illegally;
Create a new guest worker program (again to remove the need to come illegally)
Require employers to verify the eligibility of their workforce; and
Grant legal status to illegal aliens only if they pay a fine, pass a security clearance, stand in line for awhile and show that they are learning English.

Today, however, Rosemary shot down these fallacies by simply pointing out to the subcommittee that every one of those items was also in IRCA and have actually worsened the situation in the ensuing 20 years! As such, there is no reason to believe that the “new” proposals will succeed this time in stopping illegal immigration.

Click link below to read Rosemary’s testimony.




http://www.numbersusa.com/hottopic/congress.html

Related thread.

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=60772

Wow, Rosemary Jenks testimoney should be an eye opener for every member of Congress. Moreover, I think Rosemary Jenks makes Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) look like a certifiable fool since he played a huge role in designing the 1986 IRCA.

Originally Posted by MW

Wow, Rosemary Jenks testimoney should be an eye opener for every member of Congress. Moreover, I think Rosemary Jenks makes Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) look like a certifiable fool since he played a huge role in designing the 1986 IRCA.

Well Senator Kennedy still hasn't topped his Chappaquitick escapade. But maybe he's trying.