OK, this email says the number of illegals is about 15 million. I’ve been saying 50 plus. Not accounted for are the unknown number of “get-a-ways” that have sifted thru our sandy sieve of a border and gotten away with their ill gotten gains for over 50 years now, so they can get away with statements like that.
Also, for decades, Ive been reading statements from supposed immigration restriction organizations, to the effect that the number of illegals that get in each year is about one million. Add that up since 1970 or so, and the so and so’s can fool the johnny-come-lately citizens suddenly interested in the issue — and so there’s your over 50 million in addition to the “get-aways”.
These organizations still spout that they are for “sensible immigration”. Show me why a moratorium on this displacement of our native population is not the right thing to enact now. Pat Buchanan, where are you now?
OVERVIEW FROM THE CEO (JAMES MASSA) welcome to the “Inside Immigration” Newsletter of NumbersUSA Your Voice Mattered in Defeating Senate Border Bill There is so much misinformation in the media regarding the Senate Border Bill that was defeated this past week. First, the vote itself was procedural and was not a vote on the bill. As explained in our short video last week, the Senate bill did not pass “cloture”. Second, the short powerful truth is that your voice mattered! Your contacting your member of congress and telling them that the Senate deal was no deal at all and you wanted H.R. 2, the Secure Border Act, as passed in the House of Representatives is what really shut down chances of the Senate bill even reaching a vote. Third, the Senate bill was bad immigration policy. It did not accomplish anything it was touted to have done. It raised legal immigration in several ways. It failed to close heavily abused loopholes. It ignored the fact that the President already has authority to get control of the border. It normalized 1.8 million illegal alien encounters a year, suggesting that anything less wasn’t an emergency. It was bad immigration policy offered in an attempt to pass funding for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel. Finally, it is an election year. President Biden who is seeking reelection and his party have made every attempt to say the bill gave Republicans everything they wanted and yet they still voted it down. Nonsense! H.R. 2 gives everything the Republicans want and not a word of it was in the Senate bill. Another election year spin has been to blame former President Donald Trump, who is seeking reelection, saying he influenced the vote. This is just not what caused the Senate Border (plus Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel) funding bill to go down in a cloture vote. Trump has done many things to highlight the issue of illegal immigration. However, the Senate bill was defeated by you and it being bad policy. This week there are efforts to fund the military defense items separately and, as we have shared in other e-mails, to vote again to impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas. We await the upcoming government funding appropriation bills to see if the House of Representatives with their power of the purse will ensure that the national security issue which is our nation’s southern border is secured. Grant Newman will give an update on Mayorkas in the federal section. FEDERAL (GRANT NEWMAN) DHS Secretary Mayorkas Impeached
Yesterday, the House of Representatives successfully impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for willful and systematic refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust. This marks the first time a cabinet secretary has been impeached in nearly 150 years. Next, the impeachment articles go over to the Senate, which has to immediately consider them and determine whether to convict or acquit the Secretary on each article. The Senate is currently in recess until after the President’s Day recess, but is set to return the week of February 23rd. We’re hearing rumors that Senate Democrats may try to swiftly move on from impeachment, so stay tuned for developments.
January Border Numbers Drop… Already
Only a couple of weeks after the December Customs and Border Protection numbers dropped, January’s numbers arrived early. In fact, not only does the data show (relatively) good news, but that news dropped on the same day the House was reconsidering the impeachment of DHS Secretary Mayorkas. What a coincidence! That said, 242,587 encounters in a month is far from normal. There are many reasons why the drop may have occurred in January. First, historically, January is a slower month than others on the border. You may also have seen articles about Texas Governor Greg Abbot making an effort to slow the influx into Texas in lieu of Federal assistance. Another factor is action occurring on the Mexican side of the border, reported by Todd Bensman at CIS, where Mexican military and law enforcement are suddenly cracking down on migrants. We’ll see soon enough whether this is something that will continue, or if it’s a temporary action.
STATE (ANDREW GOOD)
(Idaho capitol building in Boise; Idaho state Representative Jordan Redman (R-03)) IDAHO Another state has joined the list of states where there is active E-Verify legislation. Introduced by Rep. Jordan Redman,Idaho’s H.B. 510 is an excellent bill which requires all businesses in the state of Idaho to use E-Verify for new hires. HB510 has been referred to the Commerce and Human Resources Committee, and we are pushing to get a hearing on the bill as a next step. West Virginia As you might remember from our last Inside Immigration update, the West Virginia Senate has an active piece of legislation that was passed by the West Virginia House of Delegates already (82-18), and would require employers of 15 or more employees to use E-Verify for new hires. H.B. 4759 (sponsored by Del. Chris Phillips) has been the target of a coordinated, last-minute opposition effort by business lobbyists to protect the ability of employers to have access to workers without effectively checking legal status. While the Senate did unanimously support E-Verify for all employers just last year, there will still need to be two committee hearings (Government Organization and Judiciary) where opponents of E-Verify will also seek to testify on the bill. These hearings have not yet been scheduled. Meanwhile, West Virginians continue to flood Charleston with messages of support. COLORADO Colorado is a state that has a number of sanctuary policies at both state and local levels.SHB24-1128, sponsored by Rep. Richard Holtorf and Sen. Mark Baisley, is a bill that would repeal sanctuary policy laws enacted in the past. This legislation will get a hearing in the State, Civic, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee next week, on February 22nd.High-profile cases like this recent fatal DUI will surely make for a contentious affair on the topic, another case in which the public needs to overcome zealous support for sanctuary policies within the legislature. SUSTAINABILITY (JEREMY BECK) Defending a way of life A half-century of elevated immigration levels has diminished agricultural land and habitats throughout America (Henry Barbaro looks at wetlands). Due to extremely high levels, immigration over this period changed the landscape . . . and the way people want to live. See the media coverage of our Idaho study. OUR STUDIES NumbersUSA’s two decades of sprawl studies have been cited in scholarly literature over a hundred times in over a dozen languages. You can now access them all in one place. COMING TO AUSTIN If you’re in Austin, TX on February 21st, come say “hello”! Rob Harding will be presenting NumbersUSA’s findings to the American Conservation Coalition. The event is free. Reserve a spot!
HIRING LINE (JEREMY BECK)
“What about poor and desolate citizens here?” Stephen A. Smith’s viral statement about the border crisis and its impact on American communities is one of the latest examples of nonpolitical people “spilling the tea” about immigration. Read Andre Barnes’ article. INDIFFERENCE Why did NumbersUSA oppose the failed Senate immigration package that so many political and media institutions praised? For starters, the immigration provisions displayed a profound indifference to the inadequate job prospects of vulnerable American workers. Read more. Knowledge is power The quotes from Washington, Jordan, and Douglass above are all found in Back of the Hiring Line. In case you missed it, listen to author Roy Beck revisit the 200-year history of immigration surges, employer bias, and the depression of Black wealth with Denise Long in their Feb 1 conversation.
ALLIANCES (JIM ROBB)
NumbersUSA speakers featured in national debate on closing the border NumbersUSA is a charter member of the Braver Network, which is groups trying to lower the temperature of political discourse even while keeping to their positions and principles. Last Thursday, VP of Alliances & Activism Jim Robb, Director of Planned Giving & Member Retention Christy Shaw, and CEO James Massa were featured speakers in the Braver Angels national Zoom debate on the question: “Resolved: Close the Border.” The video clip below shows James Massa’s opening 4-minute speech that urged that the U.S. border be closed. Listen in! To see the entire debate featuring many speakers, including James Massa, click below: Immigration: A Braver Angels Debate (1)
Foreign-Born Population Reaches Record Peak Amidst the worst border crisis in our history, it is worth taking a look at a lesser known, but equally important figure: the actual size of the immigrant population in the U.S.
Our friends at the Center for Immigration Studies have done a deep dive into the recent Census Bureau Current Population Survey (CPS) data (October 2023) that show that the foreign-born population in the U.S. has reached a peak in both numbers and percentage share of the overall population – 49.5 million and 15% – higher than at any other time in our history. Although illegal immigration accounts for a significant share of the recent foreign-born growth, it is worth noting that legal immigrants still account for 75% of the total foreign-born population.
OK, this email says the number of illegals is about 15 million. I’ve been saying 50 plus. Not accounted for are the unknown number of “get-a-ways” that have sifted thru our sandy sieve of a border and gotten away with their ill gotten gains for over 50 years now, so they can get away with statements like that.
Also, for decades, Ive been reading statements from supposed immigration restriction organizations, to the effect that the number of illegals that get in each year is about one million. Add that up since 1970 or so, and the so and so’s can fool the johnny-come-lately citizens suddenly interested in the issue — and so there’s your over 50 million in addition to the “get-aways”.
These organizations still spout that they are for “sensible immigration”. Show me why a moratorium on this displacement of our native population is not the right thing to enact now. Pat Buchanan, where are you now?
welcome to the “Inside Immigration” Newsletter of NumbersUSA
Your Voice Mattered in Defeating Senate Border Bill There is so much misinformation in the media regarding the Senate Border Bill that was defeated this past week. First, the vote itself was procedural and was not a vote on the bill. As explained in our short video last week, the Senate bill did not pass “cloture”. Second, the short powerful truth is that your voice mattered! Your contacting your member of congress and telling them that the Senate deal was no deal at all and you wanted H.R. 2, the Secure Border Act, as passed in the House of Representatives is what really shut down chances of the Senate bill even reaching a vote. Third, the Senate bill was bad immigration policy. It did not accomplish anything it was touted to have done. It raised legal immigration in several ways. It failed to close heavily abused loopholes. It ignored the fact that the President already has authority to get control of the border. It normalized 1.8 million illegal alien encounters a year, suggesting that anything less wasn’t an emergency. It was bad immigration policy offered in an attempt to pass funding for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel. Finally, it is an election year. President Biden who is seeking reelection and his party have made every attempt to say the bill gave Republicans everything they wanted and yet they still voted it down. Nonsense! H.R. 2 gives everything the Republicans want and not a word of it was in the Senate bill. Another election year spin has been to blame former President Donald Trump, who is seeking reelection, saying he influenced the vote. This is just not what caused the Senate Border (plus Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel) funding bill to go down in a cloture vote. Trump has done many things to highlight the issue of illegal immigration. However, the Senate bill was defeated by you and it being bad policy. This week there are efforts to fund the military defense items separately and, as we have shared in other e-mails, to vote again to impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas. We await the upcoming government funding appropriation bills to see if the House of Representatives with their power of the purse will ensure that the national security issue which is our nation’s southern border is secured. Grant Newman will give an update on Mayorkas in the federal section.
FEDERAL (GRANT NEWMAN)
DHS Secretary Mayorkas Impeached Yesterday, the House of Representatives successfully impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for willful and systematic refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust. This marks the first time a cabinet secretary has been impeached in nearly 150 years. Next, the impeachment articles go over to the Senate, which has to immediately consider them and determine whether to convict or acquit the Secretary on each article. The Senate is currently in recess until after the President’s Day recess, but is set to return the week of February 23rd. We’re hearing rumors that Senate Democrats may try to swiftly move on from impeachment, so stay tuned for developments.
January Border Numbers Drop… Already Only a couple of weeks after the December Customs and Border Protection numbers dropped, January’s numbers arrived early. In fact, not only does the data show (relatively) good news, but that news dropped on the same day the House was reconsidering the impeachment of DHS Secretary Mayorkas. What a coincidence! That said, 242,587 encounters in a month is far from normal. There are many reasons why the drop may have occurred in January. First, historically, January is a slower month than others on the border. You may also have seen articles about Texas Governor Greg Abbot making an effort to slow the influx into Texas in lieu of Federal assistance. Another factor is action occurring on the Mexican side of the border, reported by Todd Bensman at CIS, where Mexican military and law enforcement are suddenly cracking down on migrants. We’ll see soon enough whether this is something that will continue, or if it’s a temporary action.
STATE (ANDREW GOOD)
(Idaho capitol building in Boise; Idaho state Representative Jordan Redman (R-03)) IDAHO Another state has joined the list of states where there is active E-Verify legislation. Introduced by Rep. Jordan Redman,Idaho’s H.B. 510 is an excellent bill which requires all businesses in the state of Idaho to use E-Verify for new hires. HB510 has been referred to the Commerce and Human Resources Committee, and we are pushing to get a hearing on the bill as a next step.
West Virginia As you might remember from our last Inside Immigration update, the West Virginia Senate has an active piece of legislation that was passed by the West Virginia House of Delegates already (82-18), and would require employers of 15 or more employees to use E-Verify for new hires. H.B. 4759 (sponsored by Del. Chris Phillips) has been the target of a coordinated, last-minute opposition effort by business lobbyists to protect the ability of employers to have access to workers without effectively checking legal status. While the Senate did unanimously support E-Verify for all employers just last year, there will still need to be two committee hearings (Government Organization and Judiciary) where opponents of E-Verify will also seek to testify on the bill. These hearings have not yet been scheduled. Meanwhile, West Virginians continue to flood Charleston with messages of support. COLORADO Colorado is a state that has a number of sanctuary policies at both state and local levels.SHB24-1128, sponsored by Rep. Richard Holtorf and Sen. Mark Baisley, is a bill that would repeal sanctuary policy laws enacted in the past. This legislation will get a hearing in the State, Civic, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee next week, on February 22nd.High-profile cases like this recent fatal DUI will surely make for a contentious affair on the topic, another case in which the public needs to overcome zealous support for sanctuary policies within the legislature.
SUSTAINABILITY (JEREMY BECK)
Defending a way of life A half-century of elevated immigration levels has diminished agricultural land and habitats throughout America (Henry Barbaro looks at wetlands). Due to extremely high levels, immigration over this period changed the landscape . . . and the way people want to live. See the media coverage of our Idaho study.
OUR STUDIES NumbersUSA’s two decades of sprawl studies have been cited in scholarly literature over a hundred times in over a dozen languages. You can now access them all in one place. COMING TO AUSTIN If you’re in Austin, TX on February 21st, come say “hello”! Rob Harding will be presenting NumbersUSA’s findings to the American Conservation Coalition. The event is free. Reserve a spot!
HIRING LINE (JEREMY BECK)
“What about poor and desolate citizens here?” Stephen A. Smith’s viral statement about the border crisis and its impact on American communities is one of the latest examples of nonpolitical people “spilling the tea” about immigration. Read Andre Barnes’ article. INDIFFERENCE Why did NumbersUSA oppose the failed Senate immigration package that so many political and media institutions praised? For starters, the immigration provisions displayed a profound indifference to the inadequate job prospects of vulnerable American workers. Read more. Knowledge is power The quotes from Washington, Jordan, and Douglass above are all found in Back of the Hiring Line. In case you missed it, listen to author Roy Beck revisit the 200-year history of immigration surges, employer bias, and the depression of Black wealth with Denise Long in their Feb 1 conversation.
ALLIANCES (JIM ROBB)
NumbersUSA speakers featured in national debate on closing the border NumbersUSA is a charter member of the Braver Network, which is groups trying to lower the temperature of political discourse even while keeping to their positions and principles. Last Thursday, VP of Alliances & Activism Jim Robb, Director of Planned Giving & Member Retention Christy Shaw, and CEO James Massa were featured speakers in the Braver Angels national Zoom debate on the question: “Resolved: Close the Border.” The video clip below shows James Massa’s opening 4-minute speech that urged that the U.S. border be closed. Listen in! To see the entire debate featuring many speakers, including James Massa, click below: Immigration: A Braver Angels Debate (1)
Foreign-Born Population Reaches Record Peak Amidst the worst border crisis in our history, it is worth taking a look at a lesser known, but equally important figure: the actual size of the immigrant population in the U.S. Our friends at the Center for Immigration Studies have done a deep dive into the recent Census Bureau Current Population Survey (CPS) data (October 2023) that show that the foreign-born population in the U.S. has reached a peak in both numbers and percentage share of the overall population – 49.5 million and 15% – higher than at any other time in our history. Although illegal immigration accounts for a significant share of the recent foreign-born growth, it is worth noting that legal immigrants still account for 75% of the total foreign-born population.
OUR STUDIES NumbersUSA’s two decades of sprawl studies have been cited in scholarly literature over a hundred times in over a dozen languages. You can now access them all in one place. COMING TO AUSTIN If you’re in Austin, TX on February 21st, come say “hello”! Rob Harding will be presenting NumbersUSA’s findings to the American Conservation Coalition. The event is free. Reserve a spot! 
