On March 18, the House of Representatives passed two\nFAIR-opposed mass amnesty bills that would put nearly over four million illegal\naliens on a path to citizenship. The House did this in the midst of a worsening\nborder crisis that Congressional Democrats and the Biden administration refuses\nto acknowledge. These bills now head to the Senate, where they face an\nuncertain future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The American Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The first bill is H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise\nAct. Congress passed this bill by a vote of 228-197. All Democrats and 9 Republicans voted in favor. <\/strong>In the 116th\nCongress, the American Dream and Promise Act was 237-187<\/strong> with 7 Republican \u201cYea\u201d votes. The following Republicans\nvoted for H.R. 6: <\/p>\n\n\n\n This legislation grants\na pathway to citizenship to around 3 million illegal aliens<\/strong> who are already\nin the country\u2014which is well beyond the 700,000 or so active Deferred Action\nfor Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. The bill also provides a pathway to citizenship\nto hundreds of thousands of migrants under temporary relief and humanitarian\nprograms, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced\nDeparture (DED). It also does not contain any immigration enforcement\nprovisions to address the current crisis on the southern border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H.R. 1603)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The second bill is H.R. 1603, the Farm Workforce\nModernization Act. Congress passed this amnesty by a vote of 247-174. Only one Democrat voted against this bill<\/strong>,\nRep. Jared Golden of Maine. Disappointingly,\n30 Republicans voted in favor of this legislation<\/strong> \u2013 a four vote decrease\ncompared to the 116th<\/sup> Congress: <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Farm Workforce Modernization Act would amnesty approximately 1.5 million illegal\nalien farmworkers<\/strong>, expand the H-2A guestworker program as unemployment\nremains high, add 40,000 green cards to the EB-3 category, and mandate E-Verify\nacross the agriculture sector. Despite the catchy title, the bill does nothing\nto actually modernize America\u2019s agricultural workforce. That would require\nautomating many of these jobs using advanced technology and programs designed\nto give farmers access to those innovations. Further, the framework for\nimproving legal farm labor already exists \u2013 fix problems within the current\nH-2A program. This, and encouraging the adoption of labor- and cost-saving\nautomated harvesting technologies, represents true modernization. Another\nsenseless amnesty at the worst possible time does not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s worth noting that both bills are terrible policy even\nunder the best of circumstances. Passing them in the midst of a full-blown\nborder crisis driven by the Biden administration is an affront to the integrity\nof our system, as well as to the safety and security of the American people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the coming weeks, FAIR will urge Senate Republicans to\nhold firm and oppose both these amnesty bills if they are brought to the floor\nin the upper chamber. As Dan Stein reminded them, \u201cThe border crisis is raging,\nand the American people are watching \u2013 address the crisis, do not exacerbate\nit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On March 18, the House of Representatives passed two FAIR-opposed mass amnesty bills that would put nearly over four million illegal aliens on a path to citizenship. The House did this in the midst of a worsening border crisis that Congressional Democrats and the Biden administration refuses to acknowledge. These bills now head to the<\/p>\n