Biz Lobby Demands Amnesty Now – Or Else!

During the decades-long battle for sensible immigration policies, the intimidating language advocates used never worked. Enforcement supporters are routinely threatened that the consequences of not passing amnesty legislation will be dire. For the other side, sit-ins, marches and picketing are standard operating procedure. So far, they’ve been loud, but also ineffective.

Apparently assuming their strength is in numbers, 400 business leaders and Hispanic advocacy lobbyists were cosignatories on a testy letter sent to House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on July 30. The letter regurgitated the same old tedious and discredited talking points advocates have been unsuccessfully hammering away at for years – fixing a “broken immigration system” will stimulate the economy, create jobs, boost technology and much, much more.

Among the signatories were General Electric, Dell, eBay and Facebook, as well as several U.S. area Chamber of Commerce chapters. Interestingly, the Chamber’s homepage may have inadvertently given Americans a look at what the amnesty bill will really mean. Prominently featured is an image of what represents millions of workers marching in lockstep across the Atlantic Ocean into the United States.

To better represent what amnesty’s devastating consequences would be, the Chamber should also have included another column of workers coming north from Latin America.

The letter’s timing was critical. Advocates want House members to hear their arguments before the representatives head home to get an earful from their skeptical constituents. But while amnesty proponents will be out en masse in their various districts vocally trying to make their case, historically most representatives listen more closely to voters than lobbyists.

During the August recess, please go to the CAPS Legislative Center to FAX your representative and express your opposition to amnesty: