Sessions & Brat Deliver Letter to GOP: Side with Voters
– Not Donors – On Immigration January 13, 2016
“We would like to share some thoughts on the one policy that
most separates the views of the GOP’s voters from the party’s biggest donors:
immigration. The enormity of what is
happening is somehow being lost on our political leaders…
“By a 3:1 margin, voters in all parties say the level of
immigration should be reduced – not increased.
Absent visa reductions, the annual rate of immigration, the total level
of immigration, and the percentage of the country that is foreign-born will
continue surging every single year.
“Ninety-two percent of GOP voters oppose this immigration
growth, Pew reports. A microscopic 7
percent of GOP voters say they’d like to see more immigration. And yet party elites continue pushing for
more… How can it be possible that the demands of 92 percent of our electorate
are not merely ignored, but sabotaged?
The last legislation put forward would have tripled green card issuances
over the next ten years – a population of new permanent residents almost seven
times larger than the population of South Carolina…
“If we want to lay out a ‘bold, conservative agenda,’ and
demonstrate that we serve the voters – and not the special interests – we
should begin by advancing bills to reduce out-of-control immigration…”
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Chairman of the
Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, and Congressman Dave
Brat (R-VA), penned the following letter to Republicans, which were
hand-delivered to all GOP offices:
“Dear Republican Colleague:
As our conference prepares to hold its annual policy
retreat, we would like to share some thoughts on the one policy that most
separates the views of the GOP’s voters from the party’s biggest donors:
immigration.
The enormity of what is happening is somehow being lost on
our political leaders. But it is not
lost on the American people.
Immigration affects every aspect of our constituents’
lives. It affects their jobs, wages,
schools, hospitals, neighborhood crime, social stability, and community living
standards.
It is also a national security issue. There can be no higher duty as lawmakers than
to keep our constituents and their families safe. Yet our reckless refugee programs, lax green
card and visa policies, utter failure to enforce rampant visa overstays, along
with our wide open southern border, put the U.S. at grave and needless risk.
There are dozens of terrorists identified or apprehended in recent years whose presence in the United States stems exclusively from immigration policy; there will be many more unless we establish firm controls.
<http://freebeacon.com/national-security/disclosure-another-41-foreign-born-individuals-snagged-on-terror-charges/>
In the fifty years since visa caps were lifted in 1965, the
level of immigration in the country has quadrupled.
<http://cis.org/Immigrant-Population-Hit%20Highest-Percentage-Ever-in-8-Years>
– from fewer than 10 million foreign-born residents in 1970 to more than 42
million today.
Over the next five decades, Pew Research projects
immigration will add another 103 million to the U.S. population – or the
population equivalent of 25 cities of Los Angeles. That would mean 100 straight years of
uninterrupted record-breaking immigration growth.
<http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/09/28/modern-immigration-wave-brings-59-million-to-u-s-driving-population-growth-and-change-through-2065/ph_2015-09-28_immigration-through-2065-13/>
This autopilot immigration flow is not only extreme, but a historical.
Attached is an article we jointly authored for Roll Call detailing the facts.
<http://www.rollcall.com/news/memo_to_gop_curb_immigration_or_quit_commentary-244263-1.html>
After the numerically-smaller 1880-1920 immigration wave,
immigration was reduced for half a century.
There was no net increase in the immigrant population over a fifty-year
period.
– in fact, the
foreign-born population declined substantially between 1920 and 1970. During this mid-century period of
low-immigration, wages surged, incomes soared.
<http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/congress-middle-class-incomes-drop-as-immigration-surges/article/2563515>,
The melting pot churned, and – crucially – millions of
immigrant workers were now able to climb out of the tenements and into the
middle class.
Today, after five decades of record immigration, a record
number of Americans are not working
<http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/record-94610000-americans-not-labor-force-participation-rate-lowest-38>.
The share of men in their prime working years who do not
have jobs has tripled since the late 1960s.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/upshot/unemployment-the-vanishing-male-worker-how-america-fell-behind.html?_r=0>
Workplace participation rates for women have declined more
than three full percentage points since 2000
<https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=36OA>.
Median household incomes today are $4,000 less than they were
fifteen years ago
<https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=2jBP>.
By a 3:1 margin
, voters in all parties say the level of immigration should
be reduced – not increased. Absent visa
reductions, the annual rate of immigration, the total level of immigration, and
the percentage of the country that is foreign-born will continue surging every
single year.
Ninety-two percent of GOP voters oppose this immigration
growth
<http://www.pewhispanic.org/files/2015/09/2015-09-28_modern-immigration-wave_TOPLINE.pdf>,
Pew reports. A
microscopic 7 percent of GOP voters say they’d like to see more immigration
<http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/09/30/on-views-of-immigrants-americans-largely-split-along-party-lines/ft_15-09-28_immigrationparty_310px/>.
And yet party elites continue pushing for more – with no
recognition of, let alone concern for, its impact on workers. This includes the harmful impact on prior
immigrants whose wages are pushed down by waves of new arrivals competing for
the same jobs. There is nothing more
beneficial for recent immigrants than to reduce the flow.
How can it be possible that the demands of 92 percent of our
electorate are not merely ignored, but sabotaged? The last legislation put forward would have
tripled green card issuances over the next ten years – a population of new
permanent residents almost seven times larger than the population of South
Carolina.
There is never a ‘right time’ to push an ‘immigration
reform’ plan opposed by more than 9 in 10 of our voters. Just like there is never a ‘right time’ to
push a ‘healthcare reform’ plan that socializes medicine, a ‘tax reform’ plan
that destroys private sector business, or an ‘energy reform’ plan that
skyrockets the price of electricity.
Instead, we should correctly define the words ‘immigration
reform’ to refer exclusively to the policies our voters – and all voters – can
cheer and celebrate. Real ‘immigration
reform’ protects American workers, families, and livelihoods. Defined this way, it is always the ‘right time’
to promote ‘immigration reform.’
If we want to lay out a ‘bold, conservative agenda,’ and
demonstrate that we serve the voters – and not the special interests – we
should begin by advancing bills to reduce out-of-control immigration. That is the reform our voters want, and that
is what we must deliver.
Such action will not only bolster our existing electorate,
but draw millions of new voters to our party from the ranks of independents and
disaffected Democrats. Polling shows
that across all parties and backgrounds, voters agree by a nearly 10:1 margin
that companies should raise wages instead of bringing in new foreign labor
<http://www.sessions.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/b7fe4df8-cb67-4eff-8310-3b53efa8ae45/10-1-immigration-poll.pdf>. This is the right policy, and the winning
strategy.
Voters’ requests are good and just and decent. For years, politicians have pledged to create
a lawful system that serves the interests of Americans, but they have
dishonored those promises. It is time to
follow through on that pledge.
Very truly yours, Senator Jeff Sessions & Congressman
Dave Brat”
[NOTE: To view the signed letter as a PDF, please click here
<http://www.sessions.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/83c2efc3-2425-4695-924e-53e82ffcd647/sessions-brad-dear-colleague-re-immigration-1-12-16-final.pdf>.
To view this release online, please click here
<http://www.sessions.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2016/1/sessions-brat-deliver-letter-to-gop-side-with-voters-not-donors-on-immigration>.]
U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) serves on four Senate
committees: Armed Services, Budget, Environment and Public Works, and
Judiciary, where he is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and the
National Interest. Visit Sessions online at his website
<http://sessions.senate.gov/public/> or via
YouTube<http://www.youtube.com/user/SenatorSessions>,
Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeff-Sessions/23444159584?ref=search>,
and Twitter<http://twitter.com/SenatorSessions>.
Note: Please do not reply to this email. For further
information, contact Sen. Sessions’ Press Office at (202) 224-4124. For
Immediate Release Contact: Stephen Miller,
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