Alabama’s junior U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions has led the charge against so-called comprehensive immigration reform over the last several months, but he got a big hand earlier this week from fellow Alabamian, Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, who took amnesty supporters to task during an interview with Breitbart News.
Brooks warned that a flood of immigrants into the workforce would debilitate the U.S. economy and devastate American workers around the country. And Brooks didn’t restrict his criticism to just Democrats and liberal groups — he spread the blame around, even placing some of it on his fellow Republicans.
Here are the targets of Brooks’ criticism and the quotes he used to make his case:
The target: Gang of Eight
The bipartisan group of U.S. Senators commonly known as the Gang of Eight has been at the forefront of the push to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Although they got a bill through the Democrat-controlled Senate, it has failed to gain traction in the Republican-controlled house. Republican rockstar Marco Rubio saw his polling numbers plummet because of his involvement in the effort. Blowback from the conservative base has been fierce.
Rep. Brooks took the Gang of Eight to task right out of the gate.
The quote:
“The Senate Gang of Eight bill is yet another tragedy for the American worker.”
The target: Democrats
Democrats, including the president, have been the driving force behind the push for amnesty. And as usual, they’ve made it a racially-charged issue. Rep. Brooks blasted Democrats for their race-baiting tactics and accused them of not actually having minority workers’ best interest in mind.
The quote
“The Democrats don’t give a flip about the economic status of minority voters after the impact of 44 million legalized or imported foreigners. They’ll talk the game. They’ll drive the cries of racism in order to get voters on an emotional level while at the same time undermining the ability of American minority workers to support their own families.”
The target: U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Big business’s support of comprehensive immigration reform has turned into a huge wedge issue in Republican primaries when the U.S. Chamber and grassroots groups find themselves backing opposing candidates. Rep. Brooks called the Chamber out for caring more about profits than they do about American workers.
The quote:
“The Chamber of Commerce cares not one twit about how many Americans lose jobs if an immigration bill improves their profit margins.”
The target: President Obama
President Obama recently renewed his call for comprehensive immigration reform. Because of his complete unwillingness to negotiate during the debt ceiling debate, a lot of folks inside the beltway say the president’s second term agenda is dead. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to stop trying. Rep. Brooks said the president has neglected his responsibility to enforce the immigration laws that are already on the books.
The quote:
“There would be no illegal alien problem today if the President of the United States would do his job and enforce the laws that are already on the books.”
The target: Republicans
Republicans like House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan have argued that immigration reform may be necessary to address labor shortages that could potentially arise in the future. Rep. Brooks said that argument is not supported by any data.
The quote:
“The argument advanced about future labor forces is not supported by data, it is purely hypothetical, and the net result is to hurt American citizens.”
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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