{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20141123105249/http://barletta.house.gov:80/media-center/press-releases/barletta-bill-protects-legal-workers-from-obama-amnesty-crush", "Barletta Bill Protects Legal Workers from Obama Amnesty Crush", "2014-11-20", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "PA", "Lou Barletta", "B001269", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Congressman Lou Barletta, PA-11, today introduced legislation that protects people who are legally authorized to work in the United States by clarifying that illegal immigrants granted amnesty by executive action cannot be issued work permits.\u00a0 The Defense of Legal Workers Act is in response to anticipated executive action by President Obama to shield millions of illegal immigrants already present in this country and create competition for scarce American jobs.\n\u201cThe president has already said publicly 25 times that he doesn\u2019t have the power to do what he is now going to do,\u201d Barletta said.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s planning to reward one illegal act with an illegal act of his own.\u00a0 And he\u2019s sticking his finger into the eyes of millions of legal residents who didn\u2019t have a job this morning.\u201d\nThe Defense of Legal Workers Act amends current law to clearly state that illegal immigrants granted amnesty by executive action are not authorized to work in the United States.\u00a0 It leaves in place current processes by which people become legally present and authorized to work.\u00a0\n\u201cEveryone knows that when you apply for a job, you have to fill out that I-9 form and demonstrate that you\u2019re legally eligible to work here,\u201d Barletta said.\u00a0 \u201cThe president wants to say that there are some people who just won\u2019t have to worry about that.\u00a0 That\u2019s not fair to everyone who has followed our immigration laws and wants a job.\u201d\nThe Obama Administration, through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency, has made preparations for a massive influx of newly legalized residents under his amnesty program by soliciting bids for as many as 34 million green cards and work permits over the next five years.\u00a0 In 2013, the United States granted permanent resident status to approximately one million individuals and approved 1.5 million requests for employment authorization.\u00a0 On October 30, 2014 Barletta wrote a letter to USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez asking detailed questions about what those plans entail.\n\u201cIt\u2019s obvious that the president has been planning to grant sweeping amnesty to many millions of illegal immigrants who will compete for American jobs, and the ordering of card stock to make identification cards was just laying the groundwork,\u201d Barletta said.\u00a0 \u201cI want to make sure that the wave of amnesty grants does not swamp the millions of people who are legally here and already struggling to find work.\u00a0 The timing of this makes it even worse \u2013 more competition for jobs right before Thanksgiving and Christmas.\u201d\nBarletta has asked the leadership of the House Appropriations Committee to block the funding of the identification cards for illegal immigrants granted amnesty under the president\u2019s plan.\u00a0 Such an action would allow all other aspects of government to remain funded and functioning.\n\u201cCongress has the power of the purse, and we ought to use it,\u201d Barletta said.\u00a0 \u201cThis isn\u2019t about shutting down the government; it\u2019s about stopping a bad policy proposal by stopping its funding.\u201d\nBarletta also expressed concern about threats to national security in the wake of legalizing millions of people who will not be properly screened.\u00a0\n\u201cWe have immigration laws for two basic reasons: to preserve national security and to protect American jobs.\u00a0 The actions the president is contemplating violate both of those principles,\u201d Barletta said.\u00a0 \u201cIt will be impossible for the government to conduct background checks on millions of newly legalized residents, meaning adequate security screenings will never take place.\u201d\nBarletta was also critical of President Obama\u2019s continued practice of circumventing Congress by implementing policies that have already been rejected by the people and their elected representatives.\n\u201cThe president himself has repeatedly said that he does not possess the power to do what he proposes to do now,\u201d Barletta said.\u00a0 \u201cIf the president had wanted this outcome so badly, he could have sailed it through Congress when his party had complete control of the federal government during his first two years in office.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20141123105249/http://barletta.house.gov:80/media-center/press-releases/barletta-bill-protects-legal-workers-from-obama-amnesty-crush"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0905149392783642, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}