Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) told Breitbart News in an exclusive phone interview late last week that Republicans must stand up to stop amnesty because Democrats do not care about the disastrous economic effects such a policy like the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” bill would have on the country.
“The Senate Gang of Eight bill is yet another tragedy for the American worker,” Brooks said.
It either legalizes or imports more than 44 million foreigners over the next decade. When you consider that our entire population is only a little over 300 million, to have a roughly 15 percent increase in our population through legalization of illegals and importation of more foreigners, that’s quite significant. The dramatic increase in the labor supply will, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) over the next decade, increase the unemployment rate for American workers, cut the average income for American workers–those who are lucky enough to get a job–and cut our Gross Domestic Product [GDP] per capita.
If amnesty like the Senate bill were ever to become law, the economic impact would be even worse on black and Hispanic communities. Brooks said that while some Republicans understand that, none of the Democrats even care about those impacts. “The Democrats don’t give a flip about the economic status of minority voters after the impact of 44 million legalized or imported foreigners,” Brooks said. “They’ll talk the game. They’ll drive the cries of racism in order to get voters on an emotional level while at the same time undermining the ability of American minority workers to support their own families.”
When asked about the argument from the pro-amnesty business community that American workers “can’t cut it,” Brooks said plainly: “That’s BS.”
“American workers have historically been up to any task that our economy and employers have asked of them,” Brooks said. “What the Chamber of Commerce really wants is to hire cheap foreign labor rather than American citizens. The Chamber of Commerce cares not one twit about how many Americans lose jobs if an immigration bill improves their profit margins.”
Brooks also said that arguments from people like House Budget Committee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) that there is a need to fix potential future labor shortages–Ryan admits there is not currently any labor shortage “not now” in the country–are “bunk.”
“There are no labor shortages today,” Brooks said.
We have a surplus of unemployed labor. We have the lowest labor participation rate since Jimmy Carter, which is 40 years ago. So the argument advanced about future labor forces is not supported by data, it is purely hypothetical, and the net result is to hurt American citizens. If we face a labor shortage sometime in the future, it is very easy to change on a short-term basis laws relating to labor importation. If you do so, then you are suppressing wages for American families.
Brooks hopes that Republicans can flip this debate on its head, like Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) has advocated in a summer memo to his GOP colleagues, by pointing out that it is the pro-amnesty crowd, particularly Democrats, who have abandoned American workers here.
“The Democrats are speaking out of both sides of their mouths,” Brooks said.
The Democrats count on getting low-income voters via emotional messages such as racism, sexism, class warfare, or wealth transfer programs and the like. All the Democrat arguments are emotional-based. What Republicans have to hope for is that these low-income workers will use their brains and think about which policies will in fact enhance their quality of life and family incomes. It doesn’t take much thought to very quickly conclude that if you legalize or import 44 million new workers, there is only one class of citizens that is hammered and that’s the blue collar workers. So we have to do our best to help educate voters. If the voters know the true facts, they’ll vote for America.
Brooks added that he thinks that Republicans should wait until there is a GOP Senate and Republican president before passing any immigration policy to avoid any conference committee with the Senate’s Gang of Eight bill. “There is no constructive immigration bill that can become law because the Democratic Senate and President Obama don’t want a constructive bill,” Brooks said.
Hence, the House should pass nothing until such time as we have a Senate and a president who will advocate fixing the problem and enforcing the immigration laws we have already on the books. For example, there would be no illegal alien problem today if the President of the United States would do his job and enforce the laws that are already on the books. So, as for me, since I know that there is no constructive immigration bill that can become law due to the makeup of the Senate, and the President of the United States, I will vote against every rule or any other effort to bring up any immigration bills on the House floor.
Ultimately, Brooks hopes his fellow Republicans will stand with him and those fighting against amnesty to stop amnesty efforts so as to not harm the fiscal state of the country.
“America is at risk of insolvency or bankruptcy and it makes absolutely no sense to have an immigration policy that brings in foreign workers who consume more in taxes than they generate,” Brooks said. “Importation of foreign workers who don’t carry their own weight adds to our deficit which increases Americans’ risk of a debilitating insolvency or bankruptcy. Right now, the best estimates are that illegal aliens cost American taxpayers a net loss of $99 billion to $120 billion a year. We can’t afford it.”
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