OVERVIEW FROM THE CEO (JAMES MASSA)
WELCOME TO THE "INSIDE IMMIGRATION" NEWSLETTER OF NUMBERSUSA
WHAT IS BEHIND THESE HEADLINES?
Headlines are easy. Securing the Border is not. As a immigration insider, you know to read beyond the headline into the articles themselves. By reading the details of what is being reported it is safe to say that what this administration is attempting to do is not secure the border but codify policies that make an ongoing border crisis the status quo.

THE SENATE IS WORKING ON A BIPARTISAN DEAL TO ADDRESS THE BORDER CRISIS.

UNLIKELY - NumbersUSA has been waiting for weeks for actual text to emerge from the closed door meetings led by Senator Lanford as to what "the bipartisan deal" is that will address the border crisis. Week after week THERE IS NO TEXT.

NumbersUSA continues to press for the actual text. We stand ready to score it. What has been leaked and rumored has been far, far short of addressing the policy changes required to CLOSE THE LOOPHOLES and SECURE THE BORDER. H.R. 2 is what accomplishes this.

TAKE ACTION TO SUPPORT H.R. 2
PRESIDENT BIDEN VOWS TO CLOSE THE BORDER IF BIPARTISAN DEAL FROM SENATE IS PASSED

DECEPTIVE - The number of illegal border crossings in December are stratospheric and unprecedented. The President has authority today to close the border today does not do so. Rather the Biden administration policies abusing loopings in asylum and parole, and not enforcing current law to detain continues to allow 327,000 illegal immigrants in December alone to be encountered by Customs and Border Protection with over 85% of them being released into the United States.

MANY OF THE MAGA REPUBLICANS ARE TAKING THEIR CUE DIRECTLY FROM TRUMP
NOT REALLY - Both the Democrats leaders and former President Trump seem to want to make this Senate immigration effort something that Trump is responsible for resisting. However, it isn't Trump that is leading the resistance, it is NumbersUSA and our members who are continuing to educate legislators and make their voices heard in Congress that anything less than H.R. 2 will leave loopholes open that can be manipulated by this administration.
FEDERAL (GRANT NEWMAN)
CONGRESS LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS
As James mentioned above, we continue to stand ready to give our assessment of the Senate border package that's still being negotiated, but the details leaking out have been extremely troubling. While we encourage you to continue to take action to encourage the Senate to push real solutions to the border crisis, be prepared to respond rapidly to what is likely going to be a terrible immigration bill coming to the Senate floor without a lot of notice.

The House Homeland Security Committee moved forward this week with its effort to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his role in the border crisis. Specifically, the articles of impeachment focus on his "willful and systematic refusal to comply with the law," and "breach of public trust." With the Committee's work done, the next step will be to bring the articles before the whole House, but the Senate isn't likely to act. Congress will still need to use all of its power to secure policy changes to end this crisis.
CONFIRMED: DECEMBER ILLEGAL ENCOUNTERS HIGHEST EVER


As Congress continues to debate the best path forward on immigration policy changes, the Biden Administration finally revealed the Customs and Border Protection statistics from December with less than a week until the end of January. Leaks suggested weeks ago that the border encounters alone were around 302,000, which was confirmed with the data that dropped on Friday. Factoring-in other encounters nationwide, that number jumps to 371,436. Why the Administration chose to keep these statistics under wraps for so long is anyone's guess, but the result is shocking. December of 2023 was the single highest month for enforcement encounters on record.

Read Senior Legal Analyst Jared Culver's breakdown of the border situation here.

STATE (ANDREW GOOD)
WEST VIRGINIA UPDATE

It's already been a very busy legislative session in West Virginia, and it's barely February! Of course, things have to move quickly, as West Virginia has a very short legislative session – only 60 days. The state currently has the most active E-Verify bill effort happening, and we've been right in the middle of all of it.

Right out of the gate, both the House of Delegates and the Senate had bills introduced to require all employers to use E-Verify for new hires: HB 4759 (Del. Chris Phillips) and SB 431 (Sen. Jack Woodrum). House Bill 4759 immediately started moving, and we were there to testify as it was considered and voted on by the House Government Organization Committee. Having passed there, it moved over to the House Judiciary Committee, where the committee introduced a substitute version that only applies to employers of 15 or more employees. We testified there, too. After passing the House Judiciary Committee, HB 4759 moved to the House floor, where it ultimately passed by a vote of 82-18.

Note: the state Senate passed a mandatory E-Verify for ALL employers bill unanimously in 2023 that never made it into law. But now that an E-Verify bill has passed the House, a number of business groups like the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, the West Virginia Associated Builders and Contractors, and the West Virginia Coal Association have come out to publicly oppose E-Verify.

What happens next will be up to voters of West Virginia and their elected officials. And NumbersUSA will be there every step of the way to make sure the voices of sensible immigration policy are heard and not ignored!

SUSTAINABILITY (ROB HARDING)
ON THE 54TH ANNIVERSARY OF NEPA,
WHAT'S THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION?
Illegal immigration alone is adding roughly a Chicago every year. Henry Barbaro exposes the border crisis's profound impact - akin to dropping a major metropolitan city on the American landscape every year - and empowers us to do something about it.

ONE OUTCOME OF MASS IMMIGRATION: LESS LAND AND WATER FOR AGRICULTURE
As total immigration (legal and illegal) reaches levels we've never seen before, our latest study looks specifically at the impact increased demand has on agriculture and aquifers.
HIRING LINE (ANDRE BARNES)
TWITTER SPACE TONIGHT!
U.S. Immigration and the Election 2024: A Conversation with Roy Beck; Thursday 2/1 @6:15 ESTIf you watched the Stop the Buses Rally in Chicago, attended this twitter space last year, or desire to get a fresh perspective about what is going on with immigration, then I have the Twitter space (X space) for you! Pamela Denise Long of News Week and Roy Beck of NumbersUSA will review the impacts of immigration on the Black American community. What has changed in the last two years? What are the predictions for the 2024 election? The Space will start Feb 1, 2024 at 6:15 EST. Don't be late. Join live and participate.
"WORKER SHORTAGE" OR EMPLOYER PREFERENCE
There is a long history of legislation siding with employers' preferences for foreign labor over Black Americans. We have the receipts. Do you know what workers actually hear when politicians say "worker shortage" and "immigration" in the same sentence? They hear "we don't want you."

LET AMERICANS WORK
I was recently asked how the border crisis is affecting Black Americans. Watch my answer.

We are seeing the consequences of mass immigration in Chicago, New York, and L.A. with a decline in jobs, wages, and public services for Americans. Ironically, many of the Americans who have been left out in the cold as a result of the border crisis are the same essential workers that the enablers of the crisis heaped praise on just a couple of years ago. It took a pandemic and a closed border for these workers to be celebrated. See the policies and actions you can take to ensure that essential workers are not cast to the sidelines.

ALLIANCES (JIM ROBB)
'RESOLVED: CLOSE THE BORDER.'
JOIN THE NATIONAL ONLINE DEBATE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8

The Number 1 issue in America today is the border. Want to get your voice heard on fixing the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border? NumbersUSA is co-sponsoring a national online debate on this question, "Resolved: Close the Border." The debate will be held Thursday, February 8, at 8 - 10 pm Eastern time (7 pm Central, 6 pm Mountain, and 5 pm Pacific time) online. All NumbersUSA members can and should participate!

This free event can be experienced using your computer or smartphone. There is no limit to the number who can sign up, but you must register. Please sign up now:

This immigration debate is produced by Braver Angels, a 7-year-old depolarization organization bringing Republicans, Democrats, and Independents together to address national problems in a creative, respectful manner. NumbersUSA is a proud charter member of the Braver Network, which brings organizations together to help bridge the partisan divide.

The debate will feature at least one NumbersUSA speaker to help introduce the topic. As with all Braver Angels debates, there will be speakers and participants on many sides of the issue. So it's important that our point-of-view is well represented. Please take the time to register for the debate right now. Many participants will be called on to speak if they wish.

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.
700WLW - Bill Cunningham - January 25th - Bill Cunningham Show - Eric Ruark
iHeartRadio - Bobby Gunther Walsh - January 25th - Ed Martin - December 28th - Gunther Rewind - Eric Ruark
WHO Radio - Jeff Angelo - January 25th - Will Iowa Stay First-In-The-Nation? - Eric Ruark
The Daily Caller - Jennie Taer - January 26th - EXCLUSIVE: New Poll Shows That 55% Of Dem Voters Would Support Candidates Who Champion 'Open' Borders - James Massa
Main Street Radio - Joseph Patterson - January 27th - Silk or Joe Show - Eric Ruark
John Whitmer Show [KNSS-AM 1330/FM 98.7] - Michael Austin - January 28th - Guest host Michael Austin discusses the southern U.S. border and immigration legislation - Eric Ruark
NUMBERS THAT MATTER
SHOCKING BORDER NUMBERS RELEASED
The Biden Administration has removed 1 alien for every 26 it has allowed to enter the us
This week, against the backdrop of the House Homeland Security Committee approving two articles of impeachment against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, the House Judiciary Committee released a report "New Data Reveal Worsening Magnitude of The Biden Border Crisis and Lack of Interior Immigration Enforcement" that includes new, nonpublic data revealing some staggering statistics about the border crisis. Consider the following from the Judiciary Committee's press release on the report:

Of the nearly 6 million illegal alien encounters from January 20, 2021, through September 30, 2023, at least 3,095,577 illegal aliens had no confirmed departure from the United States as of September 30, 2023.
There are at least 617,607 aliens on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) non-detained docket who have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, meaning more than half a million criminal aliens are on the streets and free to reoffend in U.S. communities.
As of December 10, 2023, there were 1,323,264 illegal aliens with final orders of removal who remained in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security placed only 6.8 percent of illegal aliens encountered at the southwest border into proceedings to even be screened for asylum eligibility.
Of the at least 3.3 million illegal aliens released into the United States since January 20, 2021, the Biden Administration failed to remove, through immigration court removal proceedings, roughly 99.7 percent of those illegal aliens.
The Biden Administration has removed only one illegal alien for every 26 illegal aliens it has allowed to enter the United States.