Immigration System Broken

The federal government broke the immigration system over the past 25 years with a steady advance into unsustainable territory.  In 1989, the federal government doubled the number of legal immigrants admitted from under 500,000 per year to over 1 million per year. Also in 1989, the federal government failed to follow close the Mexican border as ordered in the 1986 amnesty law. 

Legal immigration was granted prior to the 1980s to satisfy specific skill shortages. Employers would hire immigration lawyers to submit work visa applications for foreign employees and would receive approval quickly.  The categories were determined based on shortages employers could easily prove.  These visas allowed employees to drive, but they were not eligible for any government welfare benefits.  Private agencies handled teaching English.  

After the 1989, farmers found it harder to secure work visas for temporary agricultural workers and began to hire illegal immigrants. 

Immigration open up to everybody for any reason.  We had millions of legal immigrants admitted to do minimum wage jobs.

The Anchor Baby law needs to be ended.  Childrens’ citizenship should be the same as their parents.

Illegal immigration grew after 1980, but work permit immigration law was not enforced.  This failure to enforce plus open borders allowed the number of illegal immigrants to swell to 20 million.

Legal and illegal immigrants are now eligible for free public schools and up to 80 different welfare programs.  Their eligibility should be repealed by the states.

Economist Milton Friedman said: ”You can have open borders or a welfare system, but you can’t have both.”

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader