Alabama Republican Congressman Mo Brooks introduced three immigration bills in the 117th Congress: the No Social Security for Illegal Aliens Act of 2021, the Arrest Statistics Reporting Act and the American Jobs First Act of 2021.
The No Social Security for Illegal Aliens Act would prohibit the distribution of Social Security benefits to undocumented immigrants who perform unauthorized work in the United States. Brooks’s office, in a press release, said that “demonstrating their contempt for American law,” undocumented immigrants often use fraudulent Social Security numbers to flout law that forbids undocumented immigrants from receiving Social Security payments.
About the No Social Security for Illegal Aliens Act, Brooks said:
“The prospect of ‘free’ government services and benefits is a giant magnet for illegal aliens. Congress should do absolutely everything in our power to eliminate that giant magnet. That’s why I’ve reintroduced the ‘No Social Security for Illegal Aliens Act.’ It would prohibit the distribution of Social Security benefits to illegal aliens who perform unauthorized work in the United States. The bottom line is, NO illegal alien should be rewarded with government benefits for breaking America’s laws.”
The Arrest Statistics Reporting Act does two things. It would require that arrest reports already sent to the FBI by state and local governments include the best-known immigration status of the arrestee. Second, it would require the federal government to publish crime data related to undocumented immigrants in the FBI’s annual crime reports. Brooks’s office said that this data will better inform the public and lawmakers about illegal alien crime and help lawmakers make better decisions needed to protect American lives.
About the Arrest Statistics Reporting Act, Brooks said:
“America’s policymakers face an information gap that undermines our ability to make immigration policy decisions that protect American lives from the threat posed by illegal alien crime. Policymakers know that, in FY 2020, Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted 103,603 administrative arrests. Those arrested had criminal histories including more than 1,800 homicide-related offenses, 1,600 kidnappings, 3,800 robberies, 37,000 assaults, and 10,000 sex crimes. But, federal crime data alone is insufficient. Many of the most heinous crimes, such as murder, rape, violent assaults, and the like, are prosecuted at the city, county and state level. Currently, Congress does not have access to city, county and state-level data on crimes committed by lawful immigrants or illegal aliens.”
The American Jobs First Act overhauls the H-1B visa program that, according to Brooks, too often harms American workers. The American Jobs First Act is aimed directly at combatting American worker replacement like the Tennessee Valley Authority attempted last summer. As was widely reported, TVA planned to layoff at least 120 of its American technology workers with the intention of replacing them with lower-cost foreign H-1B guest workers.
The American Jobs First Act:
- Stops employers from hiring foreign H-1B workers if they have recently, or plan to, furlough their U.S. workers.
- Requires employers to pay their H-1B workers more than their American workers to ensure foreign labor is only used when absolutely necessary.
- Suspends the F-1 OPT program, which grants all foreign students extendable work permits and exacerbates job market competition among American graduates
- Ends the unfair diversity visa lottery program, which fails to serve U.S. interests by issuing 50,000 green cards to foreigners from around the world regardless of their qualifications
About the American Jobs First Act, Brooks said:
“My American Jobs First Act will bring much needed reform and oversight to the H-1B visa program to ensure that U.S. workers are no longer disadvantaged in their own country. To end the allure of cheap foreign labor, the bill will require employers to pay any H-1B workers a minimum amount of $110,000. And to stop American worker replacement, my bill will require companies seeking H-1B labor to not have fired any American workers for at least two years without just cause and commit to not firing any workers without just cause for two years after. Commonsense H-1B reform measures like these, alongside ending the unfair Optional Practical Training (OPT) and diversity visa lottery programs, all serve to promote American interests when it comes to immigration.”
Brooks was praised by groups seeking legislation to crack down on illegal immigration.
“Congressman Brooks has established himself as a leader in Congress in fighting to end illegal immigration and to create a legal immigration system that better serves the interest of American workers,” said Chris Chmielenski, the deputy director of NumbersUSA. “With these bills, it’s clear that Congressman Brooks plans to take this fight to the 117th Congress.”
RJ Hauman, the government relations director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said: “Congressman Mo Brooks is once again leading the charge on protecting American workers and families at a critical time. These three pieces of legislation check a few of the most important boxes on immigration policy — proper illegal alien crime data, no taxpayer benefits for illegal aliens, and finally reforming a deeply flawed guest worker program. We applaud him and urge every one of his colleagues to cosponsor.”
With Democrats in control of both chambers of Congress as well as the presidency, it will be very difficult for any of these bills to pass. Brooks represents Alabama’s 5th Congressional District.
