McHenry Says "No" to Amnesty

Press Release

Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) issued the following statement tonight after his vote against the DREAM Act.

"Democrats ignored the will of the American people and chose to pass a bill that immediately places over a million illegal aliens on a path to citizenship, rewarding those who unlawfully entered the United States with the ability to petition for their family members to gain full citizenship.

"Why should the multitudes of people waiting to enter this country legally be skipped over in favor of those who broke the law? Amnesty is not the solution to our immigration problem, and I won't support it."

Background on the DREAM Act:

* The DREAM Act gives illegal immigrants amnesty, encourages more illegal immigration and inevitably takes jobs from American workers.
* Estimates that the bill only applies to 875,000 illegal immigrants are misleading.
* According to the Migration Policy Institute, an estimated two million illegal immigrants will be eligible for amnesty under this bill.
* Once amnesty recipients become citizens and turn 21, they can sponsor their illegal immigrant parents for legalization.
* This kind of chain migration only encourages more illegal immigration, as parents will bring their children to the U.S. in hopes of receiving citizenship.
* The bill also is a magnet for fraud. Many illegal immigrants will falsely claim that they arrived in the U.S. before age 16.
* Once an application is filed, no matter how fraudulent, the federal government is prohibited from deporting the applicant.
* Meanwhile, they will be given work authorization to compete for jobs with the 9.8% of Americans who are currently unemployed.

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