Unfortunately, over the past two years lawmakers made little progress on immigration, despite the urgent need to do so. As the 113th Congress was sworn in, the U.S. was continuing to dig itself out of the worst recession to hit our nation since the Great Depression. Unemployment had dropped to roughly eight percent, but official data showed that the decrease was largely due to Americans dropping out of the labor market, with the labor force participation rate dropping to under 64 percent. Moreover, data also showed that immigrants benefitted disproportionately from the creation of new jobs.
FAIR presents this Immigration Reform Agenda for the 114th Congress as a guide for ending illegal immigration, curbing executive overreach, reducing legal immigration to a more sustainable level, and improving/enhancing national security — thereby lifting the burden on the American taxpayer, and improving our quality of life.
We look forward to working with you through the 114th Congress. The full report is available in PDF.