U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has given a thumbs-down to President-elect Joseph Biden’s draft amnesty, saying that “everyone” must first have a chance to get a good job in a post-coronavirus economy.
“Before we deal with immigration, we need to deal with COVID, make sure everyone has the chance to find a good job, and confront the threat from China,” Rubio said.
He added:
America should always welcome immigrants who want to become Americans. But we need laws that decide who and how many people can come here, and those laws must be followed and enforced. There are many issues I think we can work cooperatively with President-elect Biden, but a blanket amnesty for people who are here unlawfully isn’t going to be one of them.
Millions of Americans have lost jobs in the coronavirus crash, and many millions of additional Americans live in poverty because of low wages.
Biden’s draft amnesty would provide citizenship to millions of illegals who can claim they were in the United States on January 1, 2021. It would also allow an unlimited inflow of foreign graduates into the Fortune 500 white-collar jobs that are needed by U.S. graduates.
Rubio’s intervention is important.
In 2013, Democrats delayed their “Gang of Eight” amnesty until they persuaded Rubio to join the negotiation. Subsequently, Rubio withdrew from the Gang of Eight push. His withdrawal helped GOP Majority Leader John Boehner block House passage of the amnesty.
Many polls strongly support Rubio’s perspective.
The polls show Americans’ deep and broad opposition to cheap labor migration — and to the inflow of temporary contract workers, into the jobs needed by young and old Americans.
The multi-racial, cross-sex, non-racist, class-based opposition to cheap labor migration co-exists with generally favorable personal feelings toward legal immigrants and toward immigration in theory — despite the media magnification of many skewed polls and articles that still push the 1950’s “Nation of Immigrants” claim.
The public’s mixed response is reasonable. Migration moves money from employees to employers, from families to investors, from young to old, from children to their parents, from homebuyers to real estate investors, and from the central states to the coastal states.
On September 10, the Washington Post reported on poverty in high-migration, low-wage Florida:
After the power went out at the Star [hotel], Rose’s family spent the last of their savings on a week’s stay at the Magic Castle [hotel], where the rooms were going for $39 a night. The plan was to buy time until they could come up with a plan.
Her stepfather had applied for a dishwashing job at Chili’s but didn’t get it. Rose was temporarily out of work, too. One of the employees on her shift at Taco Bell had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and she couldn’t go back to work until she proved she was virus free.
…
Finally, in early September, Rose’s parents found a way out, at least for now. A Kissimmee-based real estate agent, who provides aid to motel families and had helped them in the past, paid $3,000 in deposits and application fees for an extended-stay suite in a run-down resort community. Their new landlord agreed to overlook the fact that Rose’s parents had poor credit and had just started new $9-an-hour fast food jobs.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.