{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://barletta.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/barletta-to-dhs-sec-y-johnson-who-will-protect-american-workers-in", "Barletta to DHS Secy Johnson: Who Will Protect American Workers in Amnesty Fight?", "2014-12-02", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "PA", "Lou Barletta", "B001269", "barletta.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "VIDEO: Rep. Barletta questioning DHS Sec. Jeh Johnson: \u201cHow does this help the American worker who can\u2019t find work and can\u2019t provide for his family?\u201d\n\u00a0\nWASHINGTON \u2013 Congressman Lou Barletta, PA-11, today questioned Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson over the impact on American workers as a result of President Obama\u2019s executive action on illegal immigration.\u00a0 In a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, Barletta argued that the president\u2019s granting of amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants will increase competition for jobs that are already scarce.\u00a0 In addition, Barletta highlighted the fact that illegal immigrants granted amnesty will be ineligible for Obamacare, meaning they would be cheaper and more attractive for businesses to hire than legal American workers.\n\u00a0\n\u201cSome people say that our economic security is national security,\u201d Barletta said to Johnson.\u00a0 \u201cNearly 20 million Americans woke up this morning either unemployed or underemployed.\u00a0 The president didn\u2019t mention these Americans when he announced his plan to grant de facto amnesty and work permits to up to 5 million illegal immigrants.\u201d\n\u00a0\nIn response to the problem, Barletta has introduced the Defense of Legal Workers Act (H.R. 5761), which clarifies that illegal immigrants granted amnesty by executive action cannot be issued work permits.\u00a0 In the committee hearing, Johnson indicated that the Obama Administration\u2019s plan was to encourage illegal immigrants to come out of the shadows and seek to have their deportation deferred under the amnesty program, which would also grant them work authorization.\n\u00a0\n\u201cBut how does that make it easier for the American worker?\u201d Barletta asked.\u00a0 \u201cWe keep talking about the illegal immigrant.\u00a0 Here we go again, talking about the illegal immigrant and how we can make it easier for them.\u00a0 How does this help the American worker who can\u2019t find work and can\u2019t provide for his family?\u00a0 Who\u2019s fighting for them?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t we talk about the American worker and what this will do to them, not what it will do for the illegal immigrant?\u201d\n\u00a0\nJohnson claimed that introducing millions of newly-legalized workers would not impact Americans who are currently seeking work.\n\u00a0\n\u201cThe question of U.S. jobs, American jobs, is, in my view, a separate issue,\u201d Johnson said.\n\u00a0\n\u201cSo adding 5 million more competitors for these jobs will make it easier?\u201d Barletta asked.\n\u00a0\n\u201cThe estimate is that the potential class is up to 4 million,\u201d Johnson said.\u00a0 \u201cNot all of those will apply.\u00a0 The goal is to encourage these people, who are now working off the books (and we do have undocumented immigrants in this country working off the books), to get on the books, pay taxes into the federal treasury pursuant to a work authorization.\u00a0 The assessment is that that will not impinge upon American jobs with American workers.\u201d\n\u00a0\nObamacare, Jobs, and Amnesty\n\u00a0\nThe president\u2019s amnesty program and the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, combine to produce an incentive for businesses to hire illegal immigrants granted amnesty instead of American workers.\u00a0 As outlined in the Employer Mandate provision of the health care law, employers must supply health insurance for workers or pay a fine of $3,000 per employee.\u00a0 Conversely, under the president\u2019s executive amnesty, illegal immigrants will not be eligible for Obamacare, meaning that employers will face no such mandate or fine for hiring them over legal American workers.\u00a0\n\u00a0\nSecretary Johnson, however, refused to acknowledge that a $3,000 savings per worker could be an enticement for employers to hire illegal immigrants granted amnesty under the Obama program.\n\u00a0\n\u201cMr. Secretary, is it true that the illegal immigrants who are granted amnesty will not need to comply with the Affordable Care Act?\u201d Barletta asked.\n\u00a0\n\u201cThose who are candidates for and are accepted into the Deferred Action program will not be eligible for comprehensive health care,\u201d Johnson agreed.\n\u00a0\n\u201cSo, therefore an employer may have a decision to make: do I keep the American worker and provide health insurance or pay a $3,000 fine, or do I get rid of the American worker and hire someone who I do not have to provide health insurance and I won\u2019t get fined?\u201d Barletta said.\u00a0 \u201cIs that a possibility?\u201d\n\u00a0\n\u201cI don\u2019t see it that way,\u201d Johnson said.\n\u00a0\n\u201cYou don\u2019t think any employers will see it that way?\u201d Barletta asked.\n\u00a0\n\u201cI don\u2019t think I see it that way,\u201d Johnson replied.\n\u00a0\nIn an op-ed piece that ran in the Hazleton Standard Speaker on Thanksgiving Day, Barletta argued that the president\u2019s amnesty program was a breach of the Constitutional separation of powers, and that the result would be damage to American workers and national security.", 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": ["http://barletta.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/barletta-to-dhs-sec-y-johnson-who-will-protect-american-workers-in"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.405135728418827, "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"}