The last time NumbersUSA was mentioned on the House floor during a debate, it was amnesty-champion Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) slamming us for supporting an end to the Visa Lottery. But Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) mentioned us in a more flattering way on Wednesday night during debate over his amendment to the Defense spending bill that would have blocked DACA recipients from enlisting in the military.
Rep. Gosar, speaking on behalf of his amendment, said:
“The Gosar amendment would not end the MAVNI program, as open border advocates have falsely claimed. I support the intent of MAVNI. As NumbersUSA accurately states, the Gosar amendment would return the MAVNI program to its original intent by defunding any extension of the memorandum responsible for expanding MAVNI to include DACA beneficiaries.”
(You can view it on page 70 of the Congressional Record here.)
Rep. Gosar has been a key ally in the effort to reduce overall immigration levels and stop illegal immigration since coming to Congress in 2013. He’s one of only 24 Members to receive an A+ grade from NumbersUSA in the current Congress, and he’s taken positive actions in all nine of our grade card categories. Recently, he completed our Immigration Reduction candidate survey and was rated as a True Reformer.
In the current Congress, Rep. Gosar has introduced legislation to block in-state tuition benefits for illegal aliens and a resolution that supports border enforcement. He’s also cosponsored bills to end Chain Migration, the Visa Lottery, and Birthright Citizenship.
Rep. Gosar has done all this while representing a district with a heavy presence from Big Agriculture. Arizona’s 4th includes Yuma County, which is known as the “winter vegetable capital of the world” and accounts for one-third of Arizona’s annual gross economic return on agriculture. Yuma ranks third in the nation in vegetable production.
So it comes as no surprise that the massive Western Growers Association has a large and influential presence in Gosar’s district. The WGA pushed for passage of the Gang of Eight’s 2013 amnesty bill, including the bill’s increases in legal immigration and amnesty for illegal aliens. In May, Tom Nassif, President and CEO of the WGA, penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal expressing his frustration with Congress’ failure to pass “comprehensive immigration reform” and calling on the nation’s governors to draft and rally around a plan of their own.
Big Agriculture has deep pockets, but aside from a small donation from the WGA to Rep. Gosar in his 2012 Congressional run, they tend not to fund Members that work against their interests and, often times, identify and fund their challengers.
Through it all, however, Rep. Gosar has stayed true to his principles, and we know he’ll continue to be a champion for ending illegal immigration and reducing overall immigration numbers.
CHRIS CHMIELENSKI is the Director of Content & Activism for NumbersUSA
