MYTH: “WE NEED A GUEST WORKER PROGRAM TO FILL LABOR SHORTAGES AND JOBS
THAT AMERICANS WON’T DO.”
Fact: As soon as illegal immigrants are granted legal status and work authorization, they
will be able to compete for any job anywhere in America - we are not simply talking about
agricultural workers and roofers. Only 2 percent of immigrants and guest workers to be
admitted under the Senate bill, for instance, are doing farm work - the other 98 percent
would be working in every sector ofthe U.S. economy.
According to reports, House proposals, like the Senate bill, will include a huge influx of
foreign workers.
According to CBO, the Senate bill would add 46 million new permanent residents by
2033.
0 CBO also confirmed that the number of guest workers would increase to 2.8 million
by 2033 under the Senate bill.
~ Americans have been clear about their views on immigration’s impact on the
workforce.
55 percent of Americans support a decrease in legal immigration and only 28
percent support an increase. (FoxNews, April 2013)
O
75 percent of likely voters believe there are more than enough unemployed
Americans to fill any labor shortages. 71 percent said employers should raise pay
levels to attract more candidates. (Pulse Opinion Research, Aug. 2013)
Immigration laws should not be tailored to the demands of corporate America -
they must reflect what is in the national interest and the American people.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of Americans who want
to work but have stopped searching is 2.1 million. Over 90 million Americans are
outside ofthe labor force entirely.
According to a Dec. 6, 2013, report in CNN Money: “Only about 63 percent of
Americans over the age of 16 participate in the job market - meaning they either
have a job or are looking for one. That’s nearly the lowest level since 1978,
driven partly by Baby Boomers retiring, but also by workers who had simply
given up hope after long and fruitlessjob searches.”
As White House economic adviser Gene Sperling said recently, “our economy still
has three people looking for everyjob [opening].” (CNN, Jan. 5, 2014)
MYTH: “THOSE GRANTED LEGALIZATION WILL HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT TH EMSELVES
AND THEIR FAMILIES AND WILL NOT HAVE ACCESS TO WELFARE.”
Fact: If illegal immigrants are legalized, they will become almost instantly eligible for
federal welfare benefits if they have children and for payments from state and
local governments. These costs will be increased substantially by the future chain
migration. (U.S. Senate Budget Committee Minority, June 18, 2013)
Once those amnestied become legal permanent residents, they themselves will be
eligible for even more federal welfare benefits and Obamacare. (U.S. Senate Budget
Committee Minority, April 4, 2013)
Costs will only increase once they become citizens and will extend to our nation’s
retirement programs. The Senate bill was estimated to cost taxpayers at least $2.5
trillion in Medicare and Social Security alone - above any taxes paid in. In addition,
the long-term unfunded liability for Obamacare would grow another $2 trillion. (U.S.
Senate Budget Committee Minority, April 18, 2013)
One-third of all children in poverty in the U.S. live in immigrant households. Nearly
half of immigrant families earn less than 200 percent of the poverty level, making
them eligible for many means-tested welfare programs. Immigrants are half again
more likely to use welfare than native-born, with a majority of households headed
by immigrants from Latin America using at least one taxpayer-funded welfare
program. And immigrant families account for nearly a third of those without health
insurance and more than two-thirds ofthe growth in the uninsured over the past
decade. (Center for Immigration Studies, Aug. 2012)
Legal immigrants with green cards have access to all but two of nearly 80 federal
welfare programs. Public charge law currently goes unenforced, and House
proposals do not address this endemic flaw in our legal immigration system.