Billionaire Koch Brothers Throw Weight Behind Latest Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

David Koch and his brother Charles have given millions of dollars to libertarian causes (P
Phelan M. Ebenhack, Bo Rader/The Wichita Eagle via AP
John Binder
Washington, D.C.

The latest effort to give amnesty to more than a million illegal aliens and potentially cause a surge at the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as increased levels of legal immigration, is being backed by the billionaire GOP mega donors Charles and David Koch.

A new amnesty plan by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) would legalize millions of illegal aliens currently in the U.S. who are shielded by the Obama-created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and others who qualify for the amnesty.

Under Lankford and Tillis’ legislation, known as the Succeed Act, 3.3 million illegal aliens would be eligible for the amnesty, as Migration Policy Institute figures show, and eventually be able to obtain U.S. citizenship.

Current legal immigration law allows naturalized citizens to legally bring foreign family members to the U.S. as well, meaning an amnesty for 3.3 million illegal aliens could result in an overall chain migration upwards of 6 to 8 million foreign nationals.

The pro-mass immigration, pro-free trade Koch brothers are now supporting the widespread amnesty plan through their Hispanic-oriented organization known as the Libre Initiative.

“A number of conservative lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced legislative proposals to address this challenge,” Libre Initiative President Daniel Garza said in a statement. “We are grateful for their leadership on this important issue. We believe that this proposal should be considered among those worthwhile reforms that have been set forward, and that Congress should seize the opportunity to debate and adopt a solution to the unilateral executive action imposed by President Obama, without regard to Congress.”

Also supporting the amnesty deal is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has been vocal about their disdain for President Trump’s pro-American worker reform efforts, instead favoring guest worker programs that import hundreds of thousands of cheap, foreign laborers to take U.S. jobs.

In a statement about the amnesty legislation, the Chamber of Commerce officials said they were “encouraged” by the potentially pathway to citizenship for 3.3 million illegal aliens.

The Koch brothers most recently, as Breitbart News reported, said through their Libre Initiative that they were “encouraged” by news that Trump may cave on his campaign promise to oppose amnesty for illegal aliens.

During the 2016 presidential election, Trump made clear his opposition to taking money from the business-aligned Koch brothers, saying he did not need their money to win the election and blasting Koch-funded opponents as “puppets” for the billionaire duo.

Despite their strong opposition to Trump’s “America First” agenda, the Koch brothers have an ally in White House discussions and potential policy initiatives in the form of Marc Short, who now serves as Trump’s Legislative Affairs Director.

Prior to joining the Trump White House, Short led the “Never Trump” movement inside the Koch brothers’ pro-immigration organizations, as Breitbart News reported.

In May 2016, during the height of the Republican presidential primary, where Trump was taking the country by storm on his populist and economic nationalist agenda, Short was heading an effort to derail the then-front-runner.

At the time, National Review exclusively reported that Short was leading an effort inside the Koch brothers’ organizations to take down Trump and his agenda, partly by supporting Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who infamously helped author the ‘Gang of Eight’ amnesty bill.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder

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