Negative Population Growth President Slams Congress’ “Empty Promises” on Immigration Reform

NPG
November 13, 2018
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Negative Population Growth President Slams Congress’ “Empty Promises” on Immigration Reform

Demands 116^th Congress Make Fixing Immigration System It’s #1 Priority

Alexandria, VA – As 2018 rushes to a close, Donald Mann, the president of Negative Population Growth, a national grassroots organization fighting for responsible immigration policies, has openly denounced the Congressional leaders of the 115^th Congress.

Mann’s action came in response to the failure of both political parties to make any progress during the past two years in solving major problems related to illegal immigration, saying that Congressional leaders only used the ‘hot button’ issue of immigration to rally their base in the just completed mid-term elections.

Mann’s public attack centered on the fact that throughout 2018, members of Congress consistently promised focused and thoughtful debate on immigration reform – only to run away from taking any substantive action to resolve what has become a national crisis of the first order.

“What must be openly condemned is that Congressional leaders once again proved to be all talk, no action,” Mann said. He noted: “They do nothing more than play politics with this major issue which impacts all Americans. The longer our broken immigration system continues to deteriorate, the more negative economic, social and environmental consequences it spins off –all the while adding to the size and growth of our population.”

Mann particularly condemned the action by Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) a top Congressional leader, in introducing a comprehensive ‘get-tough’ immigration bill just weeks before the mid-term elections.

That legislation, H.R. 7059, addresses many of the key immigration issues NPG and other national organizations have endorsed as being long-overdue. Recent media reports note that this bill could come up for a vote in the lame-duck Congressional session scheduled for late November/early December.

However, that action is too little, too late for Mann. “While I applaud Congressman McCarthy for putting together a positive piece of legislation, the whole scenario of it being introduced right before the American people went to the polls only shows how immigration is being used as a political football,” Mann said. He continued: “The reality is that even if H.R. 7059 passes the U.S. House of Representatives in the final days of 2018, it faces a huge hurdle in the U.S. Senate – where it needs at least 60 votes to move on to the president’s desk for his signature. Thus, we are essentially looking at nothing more than an exercise in political grandstanding that’s once again simply aimed at appeasing the American public who are demanding substantive common-sense action on realistic, workable, and long-term immigration reform.”

Looking to the 116^th Congress which will convene in January, Mann noted that: “As our nation’s immigration problems continue to grow out of control, a new Congress means that we are going to have to start over from square one on immigration. We will be dealing with new Congressional leaders and dozens of brand-new Senators and Congressmen. In all, these new personalities could change the shape of our national immigration debate for better – or worse. We can only hope they understand the long-term effects of their decisions and work to protect our nation for generations to come.”

Mann summed up his criticism of Congress by stating: “For quite a while now, immigration reform has ranked at the top of national opinion polls. The American people are demanding action and the new 116^th Congress must make meaningful immigration reform its #1 priority. If that can be done, 2019 could finally turn out to be the year when our leaders get serious about solving this huge crisis which greatly threatens our shared future and is tearing at the fabric of our nation.” He concluded: “In the months ahead, NPG stands ready to work with dozens of other major national organizations to see this all-important task through.”

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