What About The American Worker?

The biggest casualty of the President’s executive amnesty, aside from the Constitution, has been the American worker.

President Obama is handing out millions of work permits to illegal aliens at a time when many Americans are struggling to find a job. It is difficult to grasp why President Obama seems more interested in lending a helping hand to illegal aliens than American workers. Sadly, the issuance of work permits is often an overlooked part of the President’s amnesty.

The unemployment rate in the African American community stands at 10.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Black women twenty years of age and older are unemployed at 8.2 percent. Black men and women, ages 16-19, are suffering through an astonishing unemployment rate of 33.2 percent. The unemployment rate in the Hispanic or Latino community is 6.5 percent (also above the national average of 5.6 percent).

While the Administration touts the decline of the unemployment rate as a sign that the economy is back, the devil is in the details. The workforce participation rate dropped in December to 62.7 percent, a thirty-six year low. The truth is that Americans are dropping out of the workforce in record numbers because they have lost “hope.”

President Obama is betraying American workers by outsourcing jobs to illegal aliens, especially those in minority communities where unemployment is the highest. Food stamp usage has reached records level during the Obama presidency, yet he is further diminishing their chances of finding a job because he wants to take care of those who broke our laws to come here. What about American workers?

I have fought the President’s amnesty relentlessly and will continue to do so. Last summer I worked with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas to freeze the President’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program by passing a bill out of the House. On January 14th, the House passed my Amendment to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill to once again freeze DACA. The DACA program grants work permits to illegal aliens between the ages of 15 and 33. (subject to limited exception, applicants must have been under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012 and at least 15 years or older to request DACA according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services). I do not believe that President Obama should be putting the needs of illegal aliens over American citizens.

Americans are tired of being broke and jobless. Meanwhile, President Obama is unilaterally issuing millions of work permits to illegal aliens. Does this sound like “hope and change”? We should be putting the needs of our own citizens first. American workers are being betrayed by the President’s amnesty.

Congressman Marsha Blackburn is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives serving the Seventh Congressional District of Tennessee. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is a Member of the House Budget Committee.