A message to all NumbersUSA Members from new CEO James Massa

Dear John,

CEOJames Massa
CEO James Massa
At the start of this new Congress and as the new CEO of NumbersUSA, it's time for me to begin to shape and steer NumbersUSA into the structure and direction that will be most effective in achieving your goals in the years ahead. I want to share directly with you, the Members of NumbersUSA, some of the vision, changes and exciting advances that you will be seeing in the upcoming months. This CEO Update will become just one opportunity for you to not only receive information on the direction and actions of NumbersUSA, but also to give you some insider insights into the strategies that will be creating wins for you regarding immigration.

Before I do anything else, let me thank Jim Robb for continuing to reach out to you with timely information and requests for your much-needed financial support. That funding is the lifeblood that allows us to empower you to make your voice heard in Congress. Without your regular and generous financial support, we can't be the effective organization you desire. Thank you to all of you who have contributed in the past and thank you, Jim, for working to make our needs known. Together, we can shape the future of immigration policy in the United States.

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Inside NumbersUSA

As with any changes of significance, I have started at the top of the organization with some adjustments. I am pleased to announce the following:

Anne Manetas - Please join me in congratulating Anne on her promotion from Executive Vice President to Chief Operating Officer of NumbersUSA.

As you know Anne is one of the 4 longest term contributors to NumbersUSA (along with Roy Beck, Jim Robb and Rosemary Jenks). In addition to being our "Branding Czar", Anne characterized what she does so well day in and day out by saying her job is to "make the trains run on time". A better description of the role of COO has not been stated.

Reporting to Anne will be Chris Chmielenski and Jeremy Beck.

Chris and Jeremy – Both 10+ year veterans of NumbersUSA's leadership team, their new titles may better reflect their roles.

Chris Chmielenski – VP of Content and Deputy Director Government Relations

Chris continues to be a NumbersUSA spokesperson for various radio shows.

Chris also is the business owner (vs. technical owner) for the NumbersUSA Grade Cards, an update of which was recently rolled out. Chris will begin to serve as the NumbersUSA Membership Czar coordinating all efforts for a better membership experience.

Jeremy Beck – VP of Initiatives and Deputy Director Government Relations

Jeremy will begin to join Chris' efforts as a NumbersUSA spokesperson for various radio shows.

Jeremy will also continue to be responsible for most NumbersUSA initiatives, including:

Media Standards Program
Sustainability & Population
Hiring Line Initiative
NOTE: Over the next months NumbersUSA will more fully staff and launch the Hiring Line initiative starting with a focus on engagement of the Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's). Those of you who have read Roy's book "Back of the Hiring Line" [add line to title] know that part of the result of the 200-year history of migration in the United States involves surges, employer biases, and depression of Black wealth. If you haven't read it or listened to it, I highly recommend it.

Rosemary Jenks remains as the Director of Government Relations and Grant Newman as her Chief of Staff

The role titles for Rosemary and Grant are very much intended to be in line with those titles used by Congress Senators and Representative's staff. The Director is the head of the organization focused on engaging elected officials and crafting the law and policies that will best achieve the NumbersUSA goals. The Chief of Staff is the person responsible for the internal workings of the Government Relations office and the support of the Director.

Chris and Jeremy's secondary titles of "Deputy Directors of Government Relations" is what in industry we would call a "dotted line reporting relationship". As needed they lead in the provision of support to the efforts of the Hill Team.

Jim Robb – (formerly VP of Operations). Please join me in congratulating Jim in his new role as VP of Strategies and Data. In addition to his engagement of members and operational roles, behind the scenes Jim has been involved in a number of strategic directions taken by NumbersUSA over the years, as well as, tracking all the results of the efforts of the NumbersUSA members.

I am placing Jim in this role so that he can focus on the big picture of impacting immigration policy as the majority of us work on day-to-day urgencies and needs. In the months ahead NumbersUSA will be hiring a VP of Development to take over the funding duties Jim has provided in the past. Until then I will be focusing on Foundation support of NumbersUSA. Jim will be focusing on our top donors. Christy Mullens-Shaw will be focusing on support of our many other donors.

Expanded Partnerships and Outreach to "unexpected" places

I am expanding our partnerships. The relationships we form may seem to be "strange bedfellows". Just to be clear, that phrase is not a PC gaffe but a reference to a line in the play "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare. However, some people or organizations who you may not have thought likely to be in partnership with us are indeed candidates to pursue specific policies we endorse.

This includes our longstanding bipartisan focus to work with those on both sides of the political aisle. That work has begun in earnest on both sides of the aisle with those who you may or may not have expected for NumbersUSA to engage and find alignment. However, that is the beauty of immigration policy. Those who take the time to learn the numbers quickly grow in alignment on the policies that are best for America.

As such, I want to share that my FIRST MEETING with a Congressperson was with Representative Yvette Clark (D-NY). The opportunity came about as she was advocating openly against the Eagle Act that proposed changes during the 117th Lame Duck Congress to the H1B visa program. WHY she advocated against the Eagle Act was for reasons not related to our goals of better wages, restriction of total immigration, or protection of jobs for US workers. HOWEVER, even though she had different reasons for it, her opposition to the Eagle Act was still something she had in common with NumbersUSA. Due to your activism, NumbersUSA efforts, and alignment with an atypical partner, the Eagle Act never got to the floor for a vote. After, I was able to spend time with Representative Clarke and to begin dialogue on areas where her interests regarding immigration and those of NumbersUSA may be in common.

I also have met with newly elected Member of Congress Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN) who is the first Republican elected from his district in decades. Representative Ogles is a conservative Republican and was part of the 20 Republican holdouts during the Speaker election. The conversation with Ogles was much shorter and, yet again, we began a dialogue on areas where his interests regarding immigration and those of NumbersUSA may be in common.

Taking E-Verify to the States

NumbersUSA advocates for Six Great Solutions to our nation's immigration challenges. One of the most impactful solutions is E-Verify. NumbersUSA has helped over 13 states adopt E-Verify legislation which requires employers to use the Federal E-Verify system to ensure that new employees have valid work permits or are citizens of the United States. When E-Verify was implemented in Arizona, the illegal worker numbers dropped by 40% making jobs available for US citizens and those with valid work permits.

I have personally led NumbersUSA to engage this year in West Virginia and Texas on E-Verify initiatives. With help from NumbersUSA, legislators in both of these states are poised to enact effective legislation tailored to their particular state laws. We will be looking for other states as their political climate lend themselves to our support and leadership. Like our support of union efforts in Pennsylvania this past fall which resulted in PA expanding their E-Verify to include public works projects, we are taking our efforts to those places where we can have "wins" in 2023.

Funding the Wins

West Virginia has less than 6 weeks to go in their legislative cycle. Texas only until June. Help ensure success by donating to support these early wins in the states. State E-Verify wins will mount up much-needed pressure for success at the national level. Here again, I must ask you to continue your generosity, to ensure that we have the funds we need to achieve these victories without jeopardizing the long-term health of NumbersUSA. Together with the staff of NumbersUSA, you all have made us into one of the most effective, grass-roots organizations in Washington. I ask for your continued support so we can continue to grow NumbersUSA's clout.

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Looking forward to teaming with you,

CEOJames Massa

James Massa
Chief Executive Officer,
NumbersUSA