WASHINGTON – In a statement released on Labor Day from his office, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, lobbied against the current immigration reform proposal by pointing out the current state of the U.S. job market based on data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“As the nation recognizes Labor Day, too many Americans remain without work,” Sessions said in a statement issued Monday. “A new study confirms that the labor-force participation rate is at a thirty-year low – meaning that small improvements in the employment rate have masked the deeper trend of a shrinking labor force with more people retiring early, going on disability, turning to welfare, and giving up looking for work altogether. Another troubling indicator is the record-high teenage unemployment: in 1999, half of teenagers had a summer job; today, it’s a mere third. Wages are also lower today than they were in 1999. Meanwhile, 1 in 3 without a high school diploma remains unable to find a job. This is more than temporary problem but an alarming trend: the workforce is shrinking and the welfare rolls are expanding.”
With those economic circumstances on the table, Sessions questioned the wisdom of so-called comprehensive immigration reform as it has been presented with the U.S. Senate’s passage of the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill.
“What is the message from the White House, certain businesses interests, and their allies in Congress?” Sessions asked. “Bring in more workers from overseas to do the jobs they say Americans aren’t cut out for. This is not a moral or sustainable economic policy: we cannot continue to have millions of Americans leave the workforce while providing businesses with a constantly-growing supply of workers from abroad to do the jobs instead. We need to help Americans get off of welfare, off of unemployment, and into good paying jobs that can support a family. Our first loyalty must be to US citizens. Chronic unemployment causes enormous social harm – to schools, to families, to communities. Do we really want a society with a large, growing block of Americans who are permanently out of work? A swift amnesty and a permanent surge in low-skill immigration may make sense for some business interests – but it makes no sense for a nation that is currently struggling with exploding welfare rolls, falling wages and chronic unemployment.”
“Congress must halt this misguided immigration plan and focus on strengthening the economy to better serve the interests of all Americans,” Sessions concluded.
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