It is hard to distinguish oneself among so many Presidential aspirants when everybody is rushing in the same direction. Beto O'Rourke tried but couldn't attract enough funding, dropping out of the race today.
Beto tried to beat his competition by advocating for the most leniency toward illegal immigration and for the most foreign workers to help business owners. (Take a look at his positions below.)
But Elizabeth Warren matched his nearly open-borders enthusiasm, and most of the rest of the candidates came very close.
Our WORKER-PROTECTION IMMIGRATION GRADE CARDS consider all actions and stances for 11 immigration issues by the top-rated candidates. We update them weekly to reflect changes of positions by the candidates.
Beto earned an F grade for his overall positions concerning protections for U.S.workers through immigration policy. Now, Warren stands alone with the bottom grade (although others still have a chance to get down to her level).
For the record, the other overall immigration grades for protecting U.S. workers are (at the time of this posting):
D- Kamala Harris
D- Bernie Sanders
D Joe Biden
D+ Corey Booker
D+ Pete Buttigieg
D+ Andrew Yang
We urge Democratic voters to press their favorite candidate(s) to gain a huge competitive edge over the others by advocating pro-worker immigration positions that polls show are supported by the majority of likely Democratic voters.
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Beto's life along the Texas border with Mexico failed to give him an appreciation for the necessity of boundaries to protect the interests of any country's more vulnerable workers.
Here are some of the conclusions of our Grade Card about his immigration positions (read the full descriptions here).
Oppose work permits for unauthorized migrants?
STRONG NO -- O'Rourke would increase the competition from millions of illegal foreign workers by giving lifetime work permits to most illegal aliens, with no offsets or reductions in future immigration.
Oppose other enticements for illegal migration?
STRONG NO -- O'Rourke supports extending certain benefits -- such as taxpayer-funded Medicare -- to illegal aliens and making it easier for illegal aliens to stay in the United States,
Deter border surges and asylum abuse?
MOSTLY NO -- O'Rourke wants to make it easier for illegal border crossers to remain in the United States, encouraging future border surges. He also opposes any type of barriers along the Southern border, although he does not support decriminalizing illegal border crossings.
Entry/Exit & other actions to reduce visa overstays?
MOSTLY NO -- While O'Rourke calls for implementation of an entry/exit system, he supports dismantling most interior enforcement that is designed to ensure that those who are in the country illegally are removed.
Tighten labor markets through lower overall immigration?
STRONG NO -- Rep. O'Rourke supports increases to legal immigration across most categories,
Reduce visas for lower-wage jobs?
MOSTLY NO -- O'Rourke has supported the increase of low-wage foreign labor competition with low-wage Americans. There is no record of any effort or advocacy for provisions to remove fraud from the H-2B visa system or to provide more protections so that the visas cannot be used to substitute for American workers, to hold down wage increases, or reduce pressure on employers to recruit from underserved American populations. Because he has not specifically called for increases in low-wage foreign labor, he does not receive the "Strong No" rating.
Reduce visas for higher-wage jobs?
STRONG NO -- O'Rourke supports increases in immigration for high-wage foreign workers.
End Chain Migration?
STRONG NO -- O'Rourke supports increasing the number of extended family members who are given lifetime work permits without regard to how they might compete and affect the incomes of American workers.
Punish businesses that violate immigration law?
NO ACTION -- O'Rourke has not taken any actions or made any statements in favor of punishing businesses who hire illegal-alien workers.
Require all businesses to use E-Verify?
NO ACTION -- O'Rourke has not made any statements or taken any actions that specifically deal with requiring employers to use E-Verify.
Unfortunately, by withdrawing from the race, Beto does not withdraw those anti-American-worker positions from the campaign trail, because each of them is shared by some or all of the remaining top-rated candidates.
Please contact your favorite candidate(s) and tell them how they can do better.
ROY BECK is Founder & President of NumbersUSA
