The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) unveiled an immigration proposal today that would grant amnesty to illegal aliens and increase the number of foreign workers imported each year. The proposal also attempts to appeal to Pres. Trump's desire to build a border wall by including a boost for border security funding.
The National Association of Manufacturers endorsed the Gang of 8 bill in 2013 that would have granted amnesty to most illegal aliens living in the United States, while tripling the number of green cards issued over a 10-year period.
NAM's proposal calls for eliminating the visa lottery and the 4th preference of family chain migration -- siblings of U.S. citizens. The proposal would leave in place green cards for adult children and parents of U.S. citizens. The 4th preference is capped at 65,000 per year and has the longest backlog of foreign citizens awaiting green cards.
The proposal also calls for doubling the cap on the high-skilled, H-1B guest worker program, adding more flexibility to the low-skilled H-2A and H-2B guest worker programs, adding another visa category for skilled workers, and requiring that a higher portion of green cards are issued through the employment-based preferences. Currently, 140,000 of the 1.1 million green cards issued each year are through the employment-based preference categories.
On the enforcement side, the proposal calls for an increase in border security, including additional fencing, and calls for the creation of a mandatory workplace verification system, although it does not mention E-Verify. However, it also calls for loosening the asylum rules along with a permanent amnesty for illegal aliens who have received Temporary Protected Status.
“We know that certain components will not sit well with some groups. That is the nature of compromise,” NAM CEO Jay Timmons said. “Our current situation demands a pragmatic, common-sense and comprehensive approach, and that can only be reached if everyone is willing to listen to all sides.”
For more, see FoxNews.com. You can read the full proposal [l:https://www.nam.org/uploadedFiles/NAM/Site_Content/Issues/Immigration/II....
