OPEN BORDERS LOBBY PUSHES NEW AMNESTIES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS DESPITE 9/11 TRAGEDY, LAY-OFFS, AND A WEAK ECONOMY

The open borders lobby renewed its campaign for amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, in spite of 9/11, continuing layoffs, and a weak economy. The Bush Administration and Democratic Congressional leadership are leading the campaign with a March 22 target.

Any such amnesty would result in the legalization of millions of illegal aliens, in addition to current levels of legal immigration which is running well over one million per year, and illegal immigration which is adding at least another half million a year.

If 9/11 didn't teach us enough about the dangers of indulgent immigration policies and gross non-enforcement of existing laws, you would think the current downturn in the economy and resulting unemployment might serve as a wake-up call for Congress and the Bush Administration. Mass immigration is costly to the American people on a number of levels.

Yesterday's hype was an alleged "labor shortage." In a nutshell, we were told that we had more jobs than people, so we needed to import millions from around the globe. Who believes that now?, now that so many Americans are struggling to keep their jobs and healthcare insurance. Yesterday's immigration policy is the reason we are stuck with providing employment, health care, education, welfare, and many other benefits for millions of newcomers. Why are thousands more each day allowed -- even encouraged -- to come and stay?

U.S. WORKER'S SECURITY BEING UNDERMINED...

"Some people believe that our talks with Mexico have died in the wake of Sept. 11. I assure you that this is not the case," Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner James Ziglar told a crowd of immigration advocates and lawyers at a Washington forum recently. "We should move forward -- not because it's in Mexico's interest, but because it's in the United States' interest. These workers are important to the U.S. economy."

But what about the millions of U.S. unemployed?, BALANCE asks!

THE INCREASING TOLL ON AMERICANS...

Every year, Americans lose $133 billion in wage depression and job loss as a result of immigration, according to Harvard Professor George Borjas.

In the decade from 1997-2006, we American taxpayers will have spent a minimum of $932 billion net (i.e., after subtracting taxes immigrants pay) to finance mass immigration, according to a study by Dr. Donald Huddle, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Rice University.

Some immigrant groups receive more U.S. welfare benefits per capita than natives do. Research by the Center for Immigration Studies has revealed that 31 percent of all Mexican immigrant households use at least one major welfare program (over twice as much as natives).

And one Congressman, Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT), has even introduced a bill, H.R. 1918, which would give low in-state tuition rates and eligibility for Pell grants and student loans to illegal alien students, much like the University of California Board of Regents recently voted to do in California, while out-of-state citizens would presumably still be forced to pay out-of-state tuition.

These are all reasons enough to justify pushing hard for a time-out from current mass immigration while we reassess what our country can afford and how we can make our policies more sustainable.

Yet, despite our current economic crises, and despite the post-9/11 promises to control immigration, the Bush Administration and the Democratic Congressional leadership are playing election-year politics by pushing for even more immigration and more benefits for immigrants!

Here's what BALANCE's contacts on the Hill are telling us:

A new visa-tracking bill will be moving through the Senate to complement that already passed by the House. Good news at first glance, BUT some Representatives are already pushing to attach another 245(i) extension that would provide amnesty for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, and the bill could serve as a vehicle for the attachment of a larger amnesty provision, as well.

AND Bush supports giving food stamps to non-citizen immigrants [reversing part of the welfare reform legislation enacted in 1996]. With an already suffering economy, do we really want to admit more people who need to be financially support by our government?

A guestworker bill is pending in Congress and getting increasing support. BUT, our sources tell us this is likely to be a de facto amnesty. AND, in any event, studies show that only a handful of guestworkers ever return to their native countries. Indeed, there is no resident quite so permanent as a "temporary" guestworker. With 11 million illegal aliens already living in the United States (according to a 2001 study at Northeastern University), do we need to bring in even more poor, low skilled workers?

An I.N.S. reform bill is also on the Congressional Agenda, another potentially good bill which would divide the agency into two branches: service and enforcement. BUT, unfortunately, we're expecting to see a 245(i) extension or an amnesty piggy-backed onto this bill, as well, in case it fails elsewhere.

And the push to give driver's licences to illegal aliens has intensified across the United States.

WORST... President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox are scheduled to meet again to "discuss" these issues on March 22 and, our sources tell us, they would like to announce an amnesty and guestworker program at that time. We must build momentum before that date to stop the amnesty and guestworker program.

MARCH 22 IS JUST DAYS AWAY...
DON'T JUST GET ANGRY, ACT NOW!

Two simple steps can change our future -- but we all must act now. You might be tempted to throw up your hands in frustration with the whole mess. Don't. Take just a few minutes of your time, and your support can be pivotal in stopping increasing overpopulation, environmental degradation, decreased national security, and greater economic problems.

#1. Ask your Representatives to support Moratorium Bill H.R. 2712 with an amendment to cap the numbers at 100,000 per year. Instead of calling or writing your Representative about the myriad of bills and issues floating around in Congress at the moment, just ask him or her to support one bill: H.R. 2712, the Mass Immigration Reduction Act, which explicitly enacts a moratorium on most immigration categories and which would bring current annual numbers down from a million a year to about 300,000.

By signing the enclosed Petition, you will be letting your Representative know that you not only want to see this bill passed, but that you want a special amendment to bring the numbers down to an even more manageable 100,000 per year. H.R. 2712 is a true moratorium bill, and we have got to do everything we can to show Congress that we want it passed. Please sign the enclosed Petition and return it to us or directly to your Representatives immediately.

#2. It is essential to increase our grassroots clout to overcome the pro-mass immigration special interests. Help us increase our grassroots clout by giving gift memberships to BALANCE, and a donation, too, if you can. How much can that help? A lot more than you think. Every new BALANCE member increases our political impact and enhances our funding potential. Foundations and politicians look closely at our numbers to see how much support BALANCE has -- and to see how seriously we need to be taken. So, simple gift memberships actually end up being multiplied several times because they help BALANCE receive larger gifts from foundations, and because they help us gain even more clout among our friends in Congress.

Finally, put your completed donation and gift membership form in the enclosed BRE and mail it to BALANCE today.

And one more thing -- if we are to head off the opposition before the momentum for an amnesty becomes irresistible, we must act NOW, and we need your support and gift memberships NOW to be effective.

P.S. And, in case there is any doubt about the magnitude of our challenge, consider another recent statement of I.N.S. Commissioner Ziglar:

"If we could find a way to move a substantial portion of the current illegal flow from Mexico into legal channels via some kind of temporary-worker program and combine that with a new cooperative law enforcement arrangements with Mexico, we could benefit the U.S. economy, we could substantially reduce illegal immigra tion."

WE MUST LET COMMISSIONER ZIGLER, CONGRESS, AND THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION KNOW THAT WE DO NOT WANT THEM TO LEGALIZE THE MASSIVE FLOW OF ILLEGAL ALIENS, WE WANT THEM TO STOP IT.

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