OVERVIEW FROM THE CEO (JAMES MASSA)
WELCOME TO THE "INSIDE IMMIGRATION" NEWSLETTER OF NUMBERSUSA

$1.6 TRILLION AND WHAT'S NEXT IN BUDGETS VS. BORDER BATTLE?

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Mike Johnson
Of the $1.6 Trillion dollar agreement for the "top line" budget made between Senate Majority House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) over half, $886M goes towards defense spending while $773M is marked for non-defense spending. From there, the devil is in the details yet to be worked out between the Senate and the House. Border Security, which many would argue is as important to the nation's defense as any other expenditure, fits within the non-defense spending category. Yet, will changes in policy that will truly effect the huge volumes of border apprehensions be part of the appropriations bills is yet to be determined.
Appropriation bills for each of the 12 Federal departments are due for approval in 2 stages. The majority of them, including the Department of Homeland Security, are not due until February 2nd. Yet, Congressional staffers indicate that it will take 6 weeks to actually complete the work necessary for the funding bills. Are you counting the days on your calendar. That means we are already likely to see more continuing resolutions and this border battle may continue for months to come.calendar

The time is approaching that YOUR VOICE needs to be heard by Congress as they will be faced with the "must pass" legislation of funding the government which NumbersUSA and secure border minded Congressional Members have demanded occur

MAYORKAS ADMITS 85% OF THOSE APPREHENDED RELEASED INTO U.S.

There comes a time when you just cannot believe what you are hearing. This is one of those times. Secretary Mayorkas, whose impeachment hearing begins on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, the person responsible for defending the U.S. Homeland, indicates that more than 85% of all unauthorized aliens apprehended by CBP are then released into the United States. All this occurs while there are record border apprehensions and claims by the Biden administration that they are reducing illegal border crossings. Read more here.

WHAT IS THE MONTHLY NUMBER?
The Biden Administration still has not made known the November numbers for nationwide encounters. However, NumbersUSA anticipates the numbers to be close to or exceed those of October. In October there were over 300,000 encounters of those attempting to enter the United States illegally at both borders and all ports of entry. This is referred to as "nationwide encounters". The vast majority of these are on the Southern Border and the number does not take into consideration "known gotaways", "estimated other gotaways", or visa overstays.
FEDERAL (GRANT NEWMAN)

SECRETARY MAYORKAS ADVISES SENATE NEGOTIATORS AS HE FACES IMPEACHMENT IN THE HOUSE
The House and Senate have returned from their yearly holiday recess and are already buried in immigration policy.

Speaker Johnson began the new year by bringing more than 60 House Republicans to Eagle Pass, Texas, to witness the border crisis first-hand. Since, he has repeatedly committed to getting H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, passed into law.

Senators Lankford, Sinema, and Murphy continued to negotiate border provisions as part of a supplemental spending deal through the break. Senator Lankford signaled over the weekend that a deal could be done by this week, but too many issues remained unresolved, so those statements were later walked back. It has been widely reported that the Senators have involved DHS Secretary Mayorkas, the architect of the border crisis, in their negotiations.

Meanwhile, on the House side, the House Homeland Security Committee is beginning the impeachment process against that same Secretary Mayorkas, in part for his failure to faithfully execute the immigration laws passed by Congress. The first hearing was Wednesday and focused on how the DHS Secretary's actions have impacted the States.

Under increasing pressure, the White House began blaming Congress for failing to secure the border. Speaker Johnson responded by releasing a list of 64 actions that the Biden Administration took which encouraged the seemingly unending surge of illegal immigration that has defined his presidency. You can read that list here
FUNDING DEADLINES LOOMS
It's going to be a busy month as Congress is running out of time to address government spending, otherwise parts of the government will begin to shut down. In just a week, the continuing resolution for four of the twelve appropriations bills runs out, with the remaining eight (including the Department of Homeland Security) coming in early February.

NumbersUSA continues to demand the passage of H.R. 2 and an end to the border crisis, and government funding is exactly the kind of "must-pass" legislation that could provide enough pressure to achieve real immigration policy reform.

But we need you! Don't forget that you can do your part to encourage Congress to use its power of the purse to demand an end to the border crisis. Visit your action board and take action to contact your Member of Congress or Senators and tell them you want H.R. 2 signed into law. Take action here.

STATE (ANDREW GOOD)
NEW YORK MIGRANTS FLOOD INTO HIGH SCHOOL; STUDENTS GO REMOTE
Ohio bill could require E-VERIFY
Recent New York migrants
Creative Common License, photo by Sandor Csudai
Nearly 2,000 migrants who have been housed in a tent facility nearby were James Madison High School in Brooklyn transferred to "out of an abundance of caution" as a result of inclement weather in the forecast.

Even though state emergency personnel returned the migrants to the tent housing at Floyd Bennett Field at 4:30am, students were still designated for remote learning only the following day. Local resident outrage continues to roil New York City in response to continued migrant arrivals.

TEXAS E-VERIFY PROPOSITION
On March 5, 2024, Texas will cast votes in its primary election. In Texas, voters will face a number of nonbinding ballot proposals that were recently approved by the State Republican Executive Committee. These propositions are designed to gauge public interest on certain issues. This year, there is an E-Verify item on the ballot: "The Texas Legislature should require the use of E-Verify by all employers in Texas to protect jobs for legal workers by preventing the hiring of illegal aliens. (YES/NO)" A similar question was on the 2018 Texas Republican primary ballot, and it passed with 90% voters favoring mandatory E-Verify. Perhaps a similar response would provoke new momentum for E-Verify in the state of Texas.
GEORGIA DUAL ENROLLMENT
There does not appear to be any exclusion for illegal aliens in Georgia's Dual Enrollment program which is operated in the name of "workforce expansion." Illegal aliens are generally not eligible to work anywhere in the United States and rewarding illegal immigration only creates more illegal immigration. Georgia's Dual Enrollment program is apparently using tax-dollars to put "undocumented" high school students in college classes at no cost to the families of the students who use the taxpayer-funded benefit. The Dual Enrollment program also pays for books and fees. Georgia is not the only state with a Dual Enrollment program that allows unauthorized foreign nationals to access it, it is just the first one where we've supported activism to tighten the rules. Stay tuned for opportunities in your state.
SUSTAINABILITY (ROB HARDING)
IDAHO

Setting up to present to the Kootenai County Aquifer Protection Board in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Wednesday, December 20 Credit: Rob Harding
Residents of Idaho want more protection of farmland and less population growth. Review the Rasmussen Reports/NumbersUSA Idaho poll results to learn more and take action. Please help spread the word. Your personal engagement and activism is greatly appreciated!

NumbersUSA's Idaho sprawl study was featured in a January 4 article of CASSE's online Steady State Herald, titled "Conservative Idaho: Poised to Resist Sprawl?". Consider the question asked in the article's final sentence: "Which communities in Idaho will choose to lead on confronting the problem of sprawl, inspiring others to follow?"

That's an important question to also ask about America, more broadly. NumbersUSA's national sprawl study provides evidence of where leadership on confronting the problem of sprawl is most needed. Select your state on NumbersUSA's map of lost open space and consider how sprawl is impacting your community. Then take action.

On December 20th, I presented the findings of our Idaho sprawl study to the Kootenai County Aquifer Protection Board. Idaho Governor Brad Little's North Idaho Field Director & Policy Advisor Jake Garringer was in attendance, as were representatives from the Panhandle Health District and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. The presentation was well-received.

Are you looking for a speaker? Contact me, NumbersUSA's Sustainability Outreach Liaison Rob Harding, to organize a presentation for your group, organization, or event.

IMMIGRATION POLICY AND AMERICAN WILDERNESS
The US recently lost nine Grand Canyon parks' worth of habitat and open space. Uncover why current immigration policy threatens American wilderness.

MIGRATION AND EMISSIONS
A new study estimates that at an immigration rate of 1 million per year for the U.S. - and 400,000/year for Canada - would add an additional 700 million to 900 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions over a decade. Current legal and illegal immigration to the U.S. has soared to roughly 3 million per year. See more on what that means for greenhouse gas emissions on our factsheet.
HIRING LINE (ANDRE BARNES)
TAKING THE SHOW ON THE ROAD

As we expand to new HBCUs in 2024, I am excited to apply the lessons learned in 2023 to make my presentations more effective in inspiring students to take action. See my recap 2023 speaking events at HBCUs, where I describe my travel, observations, and student reactions.
EVENTS: MLK EVENT WITH THE DMV FREEDMEN
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For those of you in the Washington D.C. area, I will be the special guest of DMV Freedmen at their MLK weekend informational meeting and presenting and taking questions about immigration policy. If you are in the area, please stop by.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I don't think it is racist to say 'we promise you that the numbers aren't going to change,' in fact it is consistent with a lot of progressive leaders from history, including civil rights leaders. The history of this is that Booker T. Washington, A. Philip Randolph, and Samuel Gompers, and Barbara Jordan - there's a long history of progressives who were most worried about the most vulnerable members of American society saying, 'look, we don't want to let in large amounts of immigration because, basically, it's going to create labor competition from our most vulnerable workers.'"

- David Leonhardt, author of Ours Was the Shining Future.

RESOURCES:
Stop Taking Black Wealth. Federal immigration policies have stolen Black wealth for the majority of the 165 years after slavery. Read an excerpt from Back of the Hiring Line.

NUMBERSUSA IN THE NEWS
NumbersUSA representatives are frequently featured in the media – on radio, TV, podcasts, and in print – providing commentary in support of sensible immigration policies. Check out a few recent highlights.
Tampa Bay Times - Juan Carlos Chavez - December 28th - DeSantis pins hopes on E-Verify in immigration crackdown. Does it work?
The Pro America Report - Ed Martin - December 28th - Political Migrants: Hispanic Voters on the Move | 12.28.2023 #ProAmericaReport
TribLIVE - December 29th (Andrew Good): Pennsylvania workers need wider E-Verify mandate
Corpus Christi Caller - Times (James Massa): E-Verify is the best way to end Texas border crisis.
AZFamily (Eric Ruark): Border agents, advocates say it's time for immigration reform
NUMBERS THAT MATTER
As Congress remains mired in negotiations over government funding and possible border security legislation, they would be smart to consider their constituents' opinions on the matter. According to the Rasmussen Immigration Index sponsored by NumbersUSA since 2019, voters of both parties believe the government should do more to reduce illegal border crossings and visa overstays.

Specifically, in the latest survey (December 2023), 61% of likely voters believe the government is already doing too little to reduce illegal border crossings and visitor overstays. Significantly, 82% of Republicans and 61% of Independents say the government is not doing enough to reduce illegal border crossings and visitor overstays, as do 41% of Democrats.

One solution both parties agree on: mandatory E-Verify. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of all Likely Voters believe the government should mandate employers to use the federal electronic E-Verify system to help ensure that they hire only legal workers for U.S. jobs. Voters have consistently championed E-Verify throughout the history of the Immigration Index.

Three scenarios

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