releases: http://barletta.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/barletta-bill-removes-incentive-to-hire-amnesty-recipients-protects-us
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| http://barletta.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/barletta-bill-removes-incentive-to-hire-amnesty-recipients-protects-us | Barletta Bill Removes Incentive to Hire Amnesty Recipients, Protects U.S. Jobs | 2014-12-03 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | PA | Lou Barletta | B001269 | barletta.house.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON – Congressman Lou Barletta, PA-11, today highlighted his own legislation as a mechanism to remove a $3,000 per job incentive created by President Obama for employers to hire amnesty recipients over legal American workers. The Affordable Care Act and Obama’s recently announced amnesty program for illegal immigrants combine to make it financially more attractive for businesses to choose illegal immigrants when making hiring decisions. Barletta’s bill, the Defense of Legal Workers Act (H.R. 5761), removes the incentive by clarifying that illegal immigrants granted amnesty by executive action cannot be issued work permits. “When it comes to illegal immigration, the conversation is always focused on how to help the illegal immigrants, who have broken our laws,” Barletta said. “No one ever wants to talk about how granting them amnesty will affect legal American workers. It’s about time someone stood up for the millions of people who are looking for work, but who will now find millions of new competitors for jobs that are already scarce.” Obamacare, Amnesty Threaten American Jobs Barletta introduced the Defense of Legal Workers Act in advance of the president’s announcement of his amnesty program, which includes handing out work permits to as many as five million illegal immigrants. Under Obamacare, businesses with fifty or more employees must provide health insurance or pay a $3,000 for each worker not insured. However, under President Obama’s recent executive action on illegal immigration, those receiving amnesty will not be eligible for Obamacare. The result is a strong, $3,000 per job incentive to hire amnesty recipients rather than workers who were already legally present in the United States. Barletta’s legislation would remove that enticement by preventing work permits from being issued to amnesty recipients. “Nearly twenty million Americans woke up this morning either unemployed or underemployed,” Barletta said. “And now we find out that the toxic combination of amnesty and Obamacare will actually drive businesses away from hiring Americans. What’s worse is that employers will now have financial incentive to replace existing workers with illegal immigrants who have received amnesty. What I can’t figure out is if that’s an unintended consequence or a planned feature of the president’s policies.” Click here or on images for video of Barletta Q&A with Sec. Johnson In a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee Tuesday, Barletta asked Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson about the $3,000 per job incentive to hire amnesty recipients. Johnson’s answer was brief and unsatisfactory: Rep. Barletta: Mr. Secretary, is it true that the illegal immigrants who are granted amnesty will not need to comply with the Affordable Care Act? Secretary Johnson: Those who are candidates for and are accepted into the Deferred Action program will not be eligible for comprehensive health care. Rep. Barletta: So, 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’t get fined? Is that a possibility? Secretary Johnson: I don’t see it that way. Rep. Barletta: You don’t think any employers will see it that way? Secretary Johnson: I don’t think I see it that way, no. No, sir. Following the hearing, Barletta expressed his frustration about the unsatisfactory answers from the Obama Administration regarding the president’s policies and their effects on American workers. “I keep hearing people say that illegal immigrants are doing the jobs that Americans don’t want to do,” Barletta said. “Well, now the illegal immigrants won’t do those jobs anymore either, because the president just cleared the way for them to take all of the other jobs away from Americans as well.” | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |