Mayorkas makes it easier to replace American workers

While Congress wraps up its work on funding the federal government, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has been using his final days to do all he can to make it easier for employers to replace American workers with cheaper foreign workers.

DHS announced two final rules this week that will allow employers to more easily hire foreign workers through the H-1B and H-2 guest worker programs.

Both visa programs have a long history of fraud and misuse. The rule addressing the H-1B program, a popular visa for keeping tech labor cheap, is focused on "streamlining the approval process" and changing regulatory definitions so more employers can get around statutory visa caps.

Another rule, focused on the H-2A and H-2B temporary and seasonal worker programs, makes various changes designed to make more countries eligible for visas and keep temporary workers here longer. Hopefully, Congress and the incoming Administration work quickly to reverse these policies.

With the 118th Congress finishing up its work this week, this will be our last weekly update of the year. All of us at the Immigration Accountability Project wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Immigration News

Scoop: Senate starts "secret" talks about bipartisan border deal
Fresh off of the defeat of the disastrous bipartisan Senate border deal championed by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), Axios reports the other Senator from Oklahoma, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), is working on a "secret" deal with Democrat Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Gary Peters (D-MI). The details of the negotiations have been kept under wraps. Still, we're not encouraged by the news, particularly given that most of the Democrats commenting on the potential deal talk about "immigration reform," which is usually D.C. code for amnesty. Congress should be focused on using the reconciliation process to make sweeping changes to immigration enforcement, not preemptively watering down the product. Rest assured, IAP is monitoring this development.

Lee Introduces America First Act to Remove Federal Benefits from Illegal Immigrants
This week, Senator Lee (R-UT) and Congressmen Jodey Arrington (R-TX-19) and Chip Roy (R-TX-21) introduced the America First Act, which plugs loopholes that allow illegal aliens to access taxpayer benefits. We commented on its release-

"The border crisis of the last four years has devastated the country and cost American taxpayers billions of dollars as illegal aliens have gained access to public benefits. During this crisis, the Biden-Harris Administration systematically abused its authority under immigration law to grant amnesty to millions, putting them on the path to direct welfare access. If nothing is done to change loopholes in the law, the coming cost will be catastrophic. The America First Act would put a stop to this magnet for illegal immigration, preserve benefits for American citizens, and cut off funds from states that actively hinder immigration enforcement. The Immigration Accountability Project commends Senator Lee and Congressmen Arrington and Roy for introducing this critical piece of legislation and is proud to support it."

Billions Of Government Benefits For Illegal Aliens
While we're on the topic of the cost of illegal immigration, our friends Matt Dickerson and Amelia Kuntzman at the Economic Policy Innovation Center detailed the loopholes illegal aliens are able to exploit for government benefits and the estimated costs.

Map Shows Which States Will Help Donald Trump With Mass Deportation Plan
Make sure to check out the interactive graphic in this Newsweek article. It shows where every state stands on supporting President-elect Trump’s plan for mass deportations.

Deep Dive: Working-Age, but Not Working, 1960 to 2024
The Center for Immigration Studies put out an excellent study this week on the growing share of Americans who aren't in the labor force. Often, in immigration policy circles, elites will parrot the line that there are "not enough workers" in the U.S. This report demonstrates exactly how that argument is false.

A Note on Accountability

If you haven't been by the website in a while, take a look at the Member Accountability Page and see what your Member of Congress has been up to on immigration in the last few weeks of the 118th Congress. You can search by Member or use this feed, which shows you all the most recent actions and press releases.