Posted on 05/15/2006 8:37:59 AM PDT by 3AngelaD
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) today unveiled an impact analysis that shows the Senate immigration bill – should it become law – would permit up to 217.1 million new legal immigrants into the United States over the next 20 years, a number equal to 66 percent of the total current population of the United States.
Even if the maximum levels are not reached, the increase to the U.S. population caused by S. 2611 will be at least 78.7 million in 20 years, just over 25 percent of the total current population. This lower estimate assumes that the bill's escalating caps on certain visas will not increase at all over the next 20 years; if the bill's caps are hit each year, the total number will be the higher estimate.
“Until now, most of us have focused on securing the border and deciding how to treat the illegal alien population already in the United States,” Sessions said. “Few, if any, of us have looked ahead to see what the long-term numerical impact of the bill would be. My staff and I have just completed such a study, and the results are shocking.”
Sessions discussed his findings at a news conference today, along with Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, who released his own analysis showing similar numbers.
“As we begin debate today on the floor, my goal is to get these numbers before my colleagues so that they can appreciate just how breath-takingly unsatisfactory this 614-page Senate bill is,” Sessions said. “We know that this country is going to treat the illegal alien population fairly. However, if the Senate wants to be successful in passing immigration reform, it should produce a bill that secures the borders and the workplace and establishes a commonsense, carefully thought out, legally enforceable policy for legal immigration in the future. For our immigration system to work, the Senate bill must guarantee that today’s facade of enforcement and illegal immigration flows won’t exist in the future.”
If the current legal immigration level (950,000 a year for 20 years or 18.9 million over 20 years) is excluded from the total, according to Sessions, the Senate bill could be described as increasing legal immigration by 59 million to 198.2 million over 20 years.
“These are actually very conservative estimates,” Sessions said. “For example, for the low end, we assumed the caps would never escalate, and we only added an average of 1.2 immediate family members coming in with each alien worker. Additionally, our numerical analysis did not add in estimates of future illegal immigration flows, or include any estimates for chain-migration – the parents, brothers and sisters that new citizens can bring in on a permanent basis.”
Chain-migration occurs when an immigrant becomes a citizen. Citizens have a legal right to bring in family members other than spouses and children. They can bring in their parents, their adult siblings and the spouses and children of their adult siblings.
“You can see how the potential exponential growth impact of the Senate legislation will cause consternation on the part of Congress and the American people ,” Sessions said.
The Senate bill would increase permanent future immigration into the United States in several ways.
LOW SKILLED PERMANENT IMMIGRATION:
H-2C Workers: By creating a new (H-2C) visa category for “temporary guest workers” (low skilled workers) with an annual “cap” of 325,000 that increases up to 20 percent each year the cap is met, the bill allows at least 6.5 million, and up to 60.7 million new guest workers to come to the United States over the next 20 years. There is nothing “temporary” about these workers. Employers may file a green card application on their behalf as soon as they arrive in the United States, or the worker may self-petition for a green card after four years of work.
H-4 Family Members of H-2C Workers: By creating a new visa category (H-4) for the immediate family members of the future low-skilled workers (H-2C), and allowing them to also receive green cards, the bill would allow at least 7.8 million, and up to 72.8 million immediate family members of low-skilled workers to come to the United States over the next 20 years.
HIGH SKILLED PERMANENT IMMIGRATION:
H-1B: The bill would essentially open the borders to high-skilled workers, as well as low-skilled workers. By increasing the annual cap of 65,000 to 115,000, automatically increasing the new cap by 20 percent each year the cap is hit, and creating a new exemption to new cap for anyone who has an “advanced degree in science, technology, engineering, or math” from any foreign university, the number of H-1B workers coming into the United States would undoubtedly escalate. The 20-year impact of this escalation could be anywhere from 1 million to 20.1 million. H-1B workers are eligible for green cards and would be allowed to stay and work in the United States for as long as it takes to process the green card application.
STEEP INCREASES TO ANNUAL GREEN CARD LIMITS:
Family Based Green Cards: The bill would increase the annual cap on family based green cards available to non-immediate family members (adult sons and daughters, adults siblings, and the spouses and children of adult siblings) by more than 100 percent, upping the current cap of 226,000 to 480,000 a year. Immediate family members are already able to immigrate without regard to the family based green card caps. The 20-year impact of this change would be an increase of 5.1 million non-immediate family member green cards.
Employment Based Green Cards The bill would increase the annual cap on employment-based green cards by more than 500 percent, upping the current cap of 140,000 to 450,000 until 2016 and to 290,000 thereafter and exempting all immediate family members that currently count against the cap today (spouses, children and parents) from the newly escalated cap. The new exemption would result in an average of 540,000 family members receiving green cards each year of the first 10 years, and an average of 348,000 family members receiving green cards each year of the second 10 years. The 20-year impact of this change would be an increase of 13.5 million employment-based green cards, for a total of 16.3 million employment-based green cards issued over the course of the next 20 years.
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I've been projecting much higher numbers than anyone else for a long time, but this leaves me gasping for air.
Just think, we will be doing the jobs illegals won't in 20 yrs.
"What should be considered is the point based system that Canada and Australia use. If you speak English, you get some points."
Great idea.... the multi-culturalists would hate it.
"Diversity quotas" need to go as well.
Overall, we should end chain migration. immediate family only (spouse and children) and employment-based visas, that's it. And end the birthright citizenship, which has been abused no end.
Wow, if this article is true, then we must start to think about the Bush we see now as being a possible stunt double that was slipped in during one of his trips outside the country. :)
This incredible state of affairs will sink the dollar's exchange rate as other countries realize we are going crazy, or regressing into stupidity or are soon to file bankruptcy.
The huge immigration will really help our Social Security shortfall. Way beyond budget busting! Why don't we just file bankruptcy now and save the environment.
"Cornyn and Hutchison from Texas are opposing amnesty."
"I don't trust ANY of them. I want them to come out and say very CLEARLY what their intentions are and STICK with them."
Cornyn has a bill on the table, Cornyn-Kyl. He is on the record with his votes and his legislative proposals.
It's a darn sight better than the amnesty bills the Senate is toying with.
"By increasing the annual cap of 65,000 to 115,000, automatically increasing the new cap by 20 percent each year the cap is hit, and creating a new exemption to new cap for anyone who has an “advanced degree in science, technology, engineering, or math” from any foreign university, the number of H-1B workers coming into the United States would undoubtedly escalate."
"This will destroy the sciences in this country and wipe out every high tech, high wage field we've got.
Management, doctors (soon to be replaced by foreigners), and lawyers will be the only fields protected. "
huh, the immigrants are already here and in all of those fields... they wont wipe out high tech, but increase the pool of people in it.
Most of my high-tech colleagues and PhD graduates are immigrants, and have been for years. Many high-tech successes (companies) have been started by immigrants.
As long as it is not too high, H1-B-type visas can be a good thing.
I also think it's not a bad idea to simply let any PhD who wants to work here do so. Let's make USA the brain capital of the world.
"...the Senate immigration bill – should it become law – would permit up to 217.1 million new legal immigrants into the United States over the next 20 years, a number equal to 66 percent of the total current population of the United States.
I've been projecting much higher numbers than anyone else for a long time, but this leaves me gasping for air."
Let's cut to the chase and avoid the long, slow, drawn-out process of becoming one north american nation:
Tell the National Guard to not stop at the border.
ANNEX MEXICO.
Put a fork in us.
We're done.
-
280+ million in America now
"Comprehensive Immigration Reform" adds millions`
--
- Water resources are critical in many areas
- Shortages of power/energy/oil
- Housing costs skyrocketing
Solutions:
1) - Let 'em drink ocean water
2) - Let 'em eat more beans
3) - Gators are hungry now
--
My work here is done on those 3 dinky issues
Next question.... Helen?
All of our projections, which the open borders defenders have decried as ridiculously high, pale in comparision to what Senator Sessions has revealed about the Senate plan.
This is beyond outrageous.
By Will Weissert
ASSOCIATED PRESS
2:39 p.m., August 15, 2003
MEXICO CITY – Despite his home state's often-combative relationship with Mexico, a U.S. senator from Texas is pushing hard for greater rights for millions of Mexicans living and working illegally in the United States.
Speaking in Mexico City on Friday, Republican John Cornyn said it was "past time" for his colleagues in Congress to consider legislation making some form of guest-worker program a reality.
"This is an appropriate time to restart negotiations," said Cornyn, who met with Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez during a three-day trip to Mexico's capital.
Last month, Cornyn presented a bill that would provide Mexican workers with a card allowing them to get jobs in the United States and requiring that they be paid at least the minimum wage.
U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, Rep. Jeff Flake and Sen. John McCain, all Republicans from Arizona, also have presented a guest-worker proposal.
Cornyn said the issue had been delayed for more than two years because of security issues on the border, but said it was time for U.S. authorities to "distinguish between those who would do the United States harm and those who come to make positive contributions."
Adm. James Loy, who is the deputy secretary for Homeland Security, testified before the Intelligence Committee earlier this year that they had reason to believe that al Qaeda had looked at coming across the Mexican border to infiltrate the United States because it would give them greater operational security, I think he said. Do you think that’s a credible threat? Do you have reason to believe that al Qaeda might want to come across our border?
CORNYN: Absolutely. Why not? It’s easy to do.
Do you have any information yourself about that?
CORNYN: I don’t have any information that’s it has actually happened.
What about people telling you that it’s likely to happen?
CORNYN: To me, it’s just obvious, because if you have an open door for someone to walk through, why would you climb over the wall. I think, essentially, our border in between our points of entry are—it’s the wild, wild west.
Te 'quero Taco Bell?
It will mean that for the American students this will not be any more a viable career.
Let's make USA the brain capital of the world.
It will not work. As the standard of living will become similar to the other countries USA will stop to be attractive for the newcomers unless very poor and desperate.
Bump.
It's already starting.
TAX REVOLT!
Bush and the Democrats are out to destroy this country.
the ol' Kleagle does know every little detail of Senate procedures, you have to give him that.
is this for all the Europeans who will want to flee before the great Islamic awakening?
I have come to believe that we are entering the "bread and circuses" phase of the "age of Caesars". In our case, the Congress, Courts, and Executive will morph into a ruling cabal, lead by a "commission of elites". They will flood our nation with immigrants in order to create an ever-increasing supply of "consumers" for the products of the transnational corporations that oversee the government. History has shown that great empires are never conquered, but they die by their own hands.
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