{"id":22719,"date":"2020-03-31T13:12:56","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T17:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=22719"},"modified":"2020-03-31T13:12:59","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T17:12:59","slug":"coronavirus-visas-foreign-worker-immigrationreform-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2020\/03\/31\/coronavirus-visas-foreign-worker-immigrationreform-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Real CARES Act: Reduce Immigration to Aid American Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Washington\u2019s $2.2 trillion stimulus package<\/a> is the most expensive relief effort in history. Though many of the outlays may be essential, spending $350 million to assist migrants and refugees, and sending billions of dollars in foreign aid are no substitute for the revivifying effects of responsible immigration policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Republican lawmaker<\/a> decried the migrant\/refugee spending as a \u201cpoison pill that puts America last.\u201d Indeed, as it assists this \u201cvulnerable\u201d foreign population, including law-breaking illegal aliens, Congress has repeatedly failed to adequately fund border enforcement. Some members have gone so far as to threaten the very existence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Congress passed the entire CARES Act<\/a> without a dissenting vote. Republicans even added $50 million to the $300 million initially offered by Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill also provides more than $11 billion in foreign aid and international development<\/a>. Lawmakers justified the largess, saying the battle against coronavirus is a global fight, but failed to justify why it should have been included in a stimulus bill aimed at keeping a faltering U.S. economy afloat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are valid moral and economic reasons to help\nimpoverished countries stop the spread of disease, but the rushed CARES Act\ndoes not even ensure the money will be spent wisely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foreign aid and\nmigrant relief are separate matters entirely unrelated to a domestic recovery\neffort. Funding for such programs must be determined on their merits, not\nrolled into must-pass emergency legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As this overloaded\ngift horse canters off Capitol Hill, Congress and the administration should now\ntake steps to bolster American workers that do not carry 13-digit price tags.\nAmong the most important actions they could take would be to adjust this\ncountry\u2019s immigration policies in ways that will help get Americans back on\ntheir feet and back to work. For starters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n