ImmigrationCritics: Gang of Eight bill will create new surge of illegal immigration

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a nonprofit organization, has been a consistent critic of U.S. policies toward both legal and illegal immigration. The organization has been calling for improving border security, stopping illegal immigration, and promoting immigration levels which are consistent with the U.S. national interest – which, for FAIR, means scaling legal immigration levels back to traditional rates of about 300,000 a year.

FAIR argues that the Gang of Eight’s bipartisan immigration reform bill is, in fact, an amnesty to illegal immigrants currently in the United States. The bill will come to the Senate floor next week.

FAIR says that the contention by the bill’s supporters, that the legislation will finally solve the U.S. immigration crisis, is misleading.

The organization notes that in 1986, the Reagan administration pushed a bill through Congress which gave amnesty to nearly three million illegal aliens — but the problem of illegal immigration has only grown worse.

“[N]othing in the Senate Gang of Eight bill will prevent a future flood of illegal immigration,” FAIR says.

FAIR points to these problems with the bill:

• Illegal border crossings already rising. With the mere talk of amnesty in the United States, illegal crossings on the Southern border have already increased this year over last. Border Patrol officials say they have apprehended 90,000 illegal aliens so far this year, indicating a 50 percent increase in crossings. FAIR says that the promise of amnesty is proving an attractive carrot for illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America. Although the Senate bill contains a cutoff date of 31 December 2011, potential illegal aliens are either unaware or confident that they will eventually be included in an extension of the deadline or a later amnesty. FAIR notes that the 1986 law’s amnesty was expanded on several occasions.
• Illegal chain migration. Under the Gang of Eight bill, nearly twelve million illegal aliens would receive the right to remain and work in the United States. Given their new ability to gain lawful employment, housing, and access to benefits, newly amnestied illegal aliens would become well suited to provide a safe haven for relatives and friends who wish to enter the United States illegally. FAIR quotes a recent Pew Hispanic Center poll, which found that 35 percent of Mexican adults want to move to the United States, and 20 percent would do so illegally. “Clearly illegal immigration remains an attractive option for a significant population and giving them a lifeline if they make it to the U.S. only makes it more viable,” FAIR says.
• New and continued demand for illegal labor. The amnesty would not dry up a demand for illegal aliens among cheap labor employers. Under S. 744 [the Gang of Eight bill], nationwide E-Verify would not be implemented until years after DHS drafts regulations, would only apply to new hires, and will exempt whole classes of employers from the requirement altogether.
• No enforcement requirements. The border does not automatically become secure upon enactment of this bill. In fact, FAIR argues, there are no requirements that DHS ever improve border or interior enforcement before legal status or even citizenship is granted to illegal aliens. In addition to allowing a porous border to remain, the Senate bill would tie the hands of law enforcement by prohibiting the enforcement of immigration laws between enactment of the bill and the end of the amnesty application period. DHS may not detain or remove an alien — for any reason — if an alien they encounter is “prima facie eligible,” or at first sight appears to be eligible, for legal status. This provision would allow illegal aliens encountered at the border and inside the United States to remain in the country by simply claiming eligibility for amnesty.