Rep. Smith: Illegal Immigrants at the Top of President’s Jobs Agenda

Tuesday, August 14, 2012, 3:01 PM EDT

Rep. Lamar Smith

The Department of Homeland Security tomorrow will begin accepting applications from illegal immigrants seeking to benefit from the President’s amnesty program. On June 15, President Obama announced that his Administration will stop deporting and begin giving work permits to illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) criticized the implementation of the Obama administration’s amnesty program.

There is little that’s clear about the President’s jobs agenda but it’s crystal clear that he has placed opportunities for illegal immigrants to work in the U.S. at the top of his list. With unemployment at 8.3%, it’s unconscionable that the Obama administration’s amnesty program actually requires illegal immigrants to apply for work authorization in the U.S. This undercuts the 23 million unemployed or underemployed Americans.

The President’s amnesty program is a magnet for fraud and abuse. While potentially millions of illegal immigrants will be permitted to compete with American workers for scarce jobs, there seems to be little if any mechanism in place for vetting fraudulent applications and documentation submitted by illegal immigrants. With Americans’ jobs on the line, the Administration should take all the necessary steps to protect their livelihoods.

Because there is no fee for the amnesty application, American taxpayers will be on the hook to pay for President Obama’s amnesty when the Administration comes running to Congress for more money to clear the backlog created by the program. American taxpayers should not be forced to bail out illegal immigrants and President Obama’s fiscally irresponsible policies.

How can the Administration justify implementing a fraud-ridden program that will deprive Americans of jobs and cost taxpayers? President Obama and his administration routinely put partisan politics and illegal immigrants ahead of the rule of law and the American people. With this track record, it’s looking more likely that even President Obama may lose his job in this economy when Americans go to the polls this November.

Recently, Chairman Smith and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley sent a letter to the Obama administration regarding the cost of the administrative amnesty program. They also sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security yesterday expressing concerns about fraud and abuse.