This Issue: EAGLE Act on life support with only a few weeks left for a vote

Fri, Dec. 16^th

Due to the amazing efforts of NumbersUSA activists, the jobs-killing EAGLE Act is on life support!

On Wednesday, House Leaders were forced to pull the bill from the floor for the second consecutive week because the bill's sponsors didn't have the votes to pass the legislation. The opposition from pro-American worker grassroots activists, a few Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association proved to be too much to overcome ... for now.

Technically, the current Congress could run through Jan. 2. The House has already debated the bill, so House Leaders can bring it back anytime between now and then.

But an update on Wednesday night from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) seemed to indicate that the chances of passage are dim:

Members are advised that the Chair has announced that further proceedings of H.R. 3648 -- EAGLE Act of 2022 will be postponed. The House is no longer expected to complete consideration of H.R. 3648.

Note: Rep. Hoyer said proceedings are "postponed." Again, the bill could come back to the floor if there are enough votes to pass it.

HOUSE SCHEDULE

After passing a continuing resolution to keep the federal government open through Dec. 23, the House adjourned until next Wednesday, Dec. 21.

Congress still needs to fund the government beyond next week, and appropriators are furiously working on an omnibus spending bill to fund the government through the end of next September. (We'll continue to monitor the process for anything immigration related.)

The Senate will vote first, which is why the House is on recess until the middle of next week.

That does give sponsors of the EAGLE Act time to rally support for the legislation. Also, the Senate isn't expected to pass the spending bill until Thursday at the soonest, which means the House will have some time in session before it votes, presenting another opportunity for the EAGLE Act to come to the floor.

And of course, there's always the week between Christmas and New Year's, but it's unlikely that the House will stay in session after passing the omnibus.

As you can see, we're not completely out of the woods yet, but the end isn't far off. We still have messages posted to your Action Board that you can send to your U.S. Representative over the next few days. Please send those messages to Congress and continue to urge your Rep. to oppose the bill.

Chris Chmielenski
NumbersUSA Deputy Director

Washington Times: Chris had an op-ed published in the Washington Times on the Tillis/Sinema amnesty proposal.

Trading amnesty for border security funding is a bad idea because merely throwing more money at the worst border crisis in American history won't change the reality that the Biden administration has no interest in faithfully executing immigration law and repatriating people who are unlawfully present in the United States.

Breitbart: NumbersUSA Director of Government Relations Rosemary Jenks commented on the EAGLE Act.

The bill "just blows the limits [on the hiring of temporary visa-workers] out in the water and makes all of these temporary worker programs permanent, so that all of these jobs will be permanently removed from American workers," said Rosemary Jenks, government affairs director at NumbersUSA.

"Congress is using an immigration ploy to lock Americans out of a growing part of the labor market ... They're dead serious about it," she said.

Congress Negates Americans' Sacrifices

Jeremy Beck

Fri, Dec. 16^th

Millions of Americans limit their personal consumption to conserve natural resources. But there is a movement afoot to ask Americans to sacrifice not for nature's sake, but in order to pack more people into the country, the states, cities and towns. We are being asked to conserve more individually so we can consume more collectively. With our total ecological footprint already well beyond our biocapacity, moderating immigration numbers back to the levels of even the 1980s would be among the top priorities of a sensible Congress.

GOP Reps Urge Senate To Oppose Tillis/Sinema Amnesty Framework

Thu, Dec. 15^th

Six Republican House members have sent a letter to their colleagues in the Senate urging them to oppose a possible amnesty framework, according to reporting by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Plurality of Likely Voters Oppose Amnesty

Thu, Dec. 15^th

According to a recent poll by Rasmussen Reports, a plurality of likely U.S. voters oppose giving amnesty to an estimated 12 million illegals currently living in the United States.

DHS and DOL Make 68K More H-2B Visas Available for FY 2023

Thu, Dec. 15^th

In conjunction with the Department of Labor, DHS has issued a joint temporary final rule to increase the number of H-2B foreign worker visas for fiscal year 2023. The temporary final rule was made available for public inspection and will formally publish in the Federal Register on Dec. 15, 2022.

Sensible U.S. immigration policy should support U.S. workers during challenging economic times

Lisa Irving

Wed, Dec. 14^th

The push for more immigration amidst growing economic uncertainty only adds to the financial insecurity of working U.S. families. A policy rooted in economic fairness would limit employers' access to foreign labor.