You might think Congress, particularly the Republican majorities in the House and Senate, would make passing the bill funding the Department of Homeland Security for 2026 a priority. You would be mistaken. Why am I writing about homeland security? We asked for a provision in the House bill last spring that would tell the Department of Homeland Security to report to Congress on the corruption in the R-1 visa program.
This program allows a member of a religious denomination who is “a minister or in a religious vocation or occupation and is employed by a religious organization” to come here from another country to work for up to five years.
We could start with the need for the R-1 visa program at all. Doesn’t it just take jobs away from hard-working American ministers and Americans in religious occupations? (Think workers at Catholic Charities, for example.) The R-1 program was established in 1990. Church membership has declined from 68 percent back then to 46 percent now. Maybe it's just not necessary. If a religious denomination can’t find its own ministers here, shouldn’t that say something about it?
We especially don’t need an immigration carveout for ministers and church workers when anecdotal evidence has repeatedly shown that in some cases the workers are not working on approved religious activities. Fifteen years ago an inspection program was implemented to address this problem but it doesn’t seem to be working. There is a lot of evidence that the Scientologists are bringing people to the United States who end up working in housekeeping and maintenance at Scientology centers.
|
|
Just this fall a federal investigation was closed in New Jersey where Hindus brought here to help build a big temple were working 90 hours a week at $1.20 an hour. It seems it was just a big misunderstanding. But a civil suit is proceeding.
For all these reasons, we worked with Congressman Mark Pocan last spring to get this provision in the House 2026 Homeland Security spending bill:
"R–1 Visa Program.—USCIS shall provide a briefing to the Committee within 180 days of the date of enactment of this Act on deceptive and exploitative labor practice abuses within the R–1 Visa program. The briefing shall include plans on ways to mitigate and prevent such abuse."
The bill with that language in it was approved by the House Appropriations Committee in June but has not moved to the full House for approval, like eight of the twelve other appropriations bills for the different government agencies.
I’m not going to geek out here on the breakdown in the appropriations process and the resulting government shutdown. It’s just looking less likely that everything in the original House bill will have a chance to survive in whatever bill ultimately funds the government for 2026. But I’ll keep trying and I’ll let you know if you can weigh in with your representatives.
Unlike most items in a spending bill, this provision doesn’t even cost anything. Sometimes when I meet with people on the Hill on church-state separation issues I hear, “You’re the first person today who didn’t come in asking for money for something."
For irony on special immigration programs you can read how the President is making it way more difficult to bring in workers who actually provide value in this country. Also how he always brings in seasonal workers from other countries to work at Mar-A-Lago and his other resort properties. In order to do that under the H-2B visa program you have to show that you tried to find American workers for the positions. He doesn’t try hard. It’s amusing that he asked to bring in five bartenders one year recently because he said he couldn’t find any in the West Palm Beach area who wanted to work at Mar-A-Lago. I wonder if the foreigners work more cheaply?
|
|
Your advocate,
Scott MacConomy
Director of Policy and Government Affairs
Secular Coalition for America
[email protected] |
|
|
Did someone forward this to you? You can sign up at secular.org with your email and zip code.
The Secular Coalition for America works every day to defend the separation of religion and government and to fight anti-democratic ideologies like Christian nationalism. Your support for this work is vital.
|
|
|
|
|
|
