Rep. Blagojevich has taken no action to reduce
the level of chain migration and the lottery.

Major Numbers in All Categories top

Rep. Blagojevich has taken no action to reduce
major numbers in all categories.

Importing Specific Foreign Workers top

Opposed doubling of H-1B foreign high-tech workers in 1998

The House passed H.R. 3736 by a vote of 288-133. Rep. Blagojevich opposed this bill which ultimately increased by nearly 150,000 the number of foreign workers that high-tech American companies could hire over the next three years. Although the foreign workers receive temporary visas for up to six years, most historically have found ways to stay permanently in this country. Rep. Blagojevich joined those who argued that the foreign workers were not needed while U.S. firms were laying off tens of thousands of American workers.

Attempted to protect U.S. high-tech workers in 1998
Before the House passed the H-1B doubling bill (H.R.3736), Rep. Blagojevich voted for a Watt Substitute bill that would have forbidden U.S. firms from using temporary foreign workers to replace Americans. It also would have required U.S. firms to check a box on a form attesting that they had first sought an American worker for the job. The substitute failed 177-242.

Citizenship for Illegal Alien Babies top

Rep. Blagojevich has taken no action to reduce
the rewarding of illegal immigration by giving citizenship
to anchor babies.

Inviting / Repelling Illegal Aliens top

Voted against authorizing the use of the military to assist in border control efforts in 2002

Rep. Blagojevich voted against H. Amdt. 479 to H.R. 4546, the Department of Defense Authorization bill. The amendment authorized the Secretary of Defense to assign members of the military, under certain circumstances, to assist the Bureau of Border Security and U.S. Customs Service of the Department of Homeland Security on preventing the entry of terrorists, drug traffickers, and illegal aliens into the United States The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Goode of Virginia, passed the House by a vote of 232-183.

Voted in favor of a four-month extension of Section 245(i) in 2001

Rep. Blagojevich voted on the floor of the House IN FAVOR OF a motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 1885, a four-month extension of Section 245(i), which is a de facto amnesty in that current federal policy did not deport illegal aliens once they applied for Section 245(i) and allowed them to remain in the U.S. for years until they were allowed to become official immigrants. The vote on the four-month extension represented a compromise of the White House push for a longer extension. Even though the four month extension was better than a year-long or permanent extension, it still would have resulted in at least 200,000 more people being added to the country through illegal immigration. Rep. Blagojevich was part of a 336-43 majority voting in favor of the four-month extension of Section 245(i). It did not become law, though.

Cosponsored legislation to reward illegal aliens with amnesty in 2001.

Rep. Blagojevich acted to reward those who break our immigration laws and encourage more illegal immigration by cosponsoring H.R. 348, the Central American and Haitian Adjustment Act of 2001. This legislation, introduced by Rep. Gutierrez would extend parts of the NACARA amnesty to certain illegal aliens from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Haiti. Past experience has shown that amnesties for illegal aliens reward illegal immigration and encourage more.

	Voted AGAINST authorizing troops on the border in 2001.
	Rep. Blagojevich voted not to enforce the border by voting AGAINST the Traficant amendment to HR 2586. This amendment authorized the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, to request that members of the Armed Forces assist the INS with border control duties. The Traficant amendment passed by a vote of 242 to 173, but this measure was never considered by the Senate.

Signed letter to President Clinton supporting an amnesty in 2000.

Rep. Blagojevich, along with 151 other House Democrats, signed a letter to President Clinton saying he would sustain a veto of an end-of-session appropriations bill if it did not include an amnesty. This was an action in support of Rep. Conyer's amnesty act, H.R.4966, that would have granted amnesty to some 3.4 million aliens from Central America and Haiti. This would have been the largest amnesty in the history of the country -- larger than even the 1986 IRCA Amnesty.

	Voted in 2000 against authorizing troops on the border.
	Rep. Blagojevich voted AGAINST enforcing the border by opposing the Traficant amendment to H.R.4205. This amendment authorizes the Secretary of Defense to assign, under certain circumstances, members of the Armed Forces to assist the INS with border control duties. The Traficant amendment passed by a vote of 243 to 183, but the Clinton Administration never chose to exercise this power.

	Voted against authorizing the use of troops on the border in 1999
	Rep. Blagojevich voted against the Trafficant Amendment to H.R. 1401. This amendment authorized the Secretary of Defense, under certain circumstances, to assign members of the Armed Forces to assist the Border Patrol and Customs Service only in drug interdiction and counter terrorism activities along our borders. The Traficant amendment passed by a vote of 242 to 181.

	Cosponsored bill to reward illegal aliens with amnesty in 1998
	Rep. Blagojevich co-sponsored H.R.3553 which would have rewarded almost 1.2 million illegal aliens from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Haiti by putting them on the path to U.S. citizenship. This amnesty would have been IN ADDITION to the one passed in 1997 for almost one million Cubans, Nicaraguans and other long-time resident illegal aliens from Central America.

Sponsored amnesty for over half a million illegal aliens from Central America in 1997

Rep. Blagojevich helped create pressure in Congress to reward illegal aliens by cosponsoring H.R.2302. The bill would have allowed over half a million Central Americans who had been living in the United States illegally since at least 1991 to apply for legal residence, thus putting them on the path to U.S. citizenship. An expanded version of this bill eventually was passed by Congress when it was slipped into an appropriations bill for the District of Columbia (see the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act of 1997).

Voted AGAINST killing pro-illegal-alien Section 245(i) program in 1997

Given the chance to vote against a notorious pro-illegal immigration program called Section 245(i), Rep. Blagojevich declined. The Section 245(i) program dealt with certain illegal aliens who were on lists that could qualify them eventually for legal residency. It provided them a loophole in which they could pay a fee and avoid a 1996 law’s provision that punishes illegal aliens by barring them for 10 years from entering the U.S. on a legal visa as a student, tourist, worker or immigrant. The controversial experimental program was supposed to “sunset” late in 1997 and be automatically taken off the books. But the Senate voted to permanently continue the pro-illegal immigration program by attaching it to an appropriations bill. House leaders, though, refused to include the program in the House appropriations bill. That meant the issue would be decided in a joint Senate/House Conference Committee. Representatives wanting to make sure that House Conferees fought the Senate stance, brought a “Motion to Instruct” to the floor. The motion -- if passed -- would make it clear that the House wanted the Conferees to kill the Section 245(i) program. Immigration lawyers lobbied the House vigorously to keep what to them was a lucrative program. Rep. Blagojevich was part of a 268 to 153 House majority that refused to “instruct” the Conferees to kill the program. Despite the vote, House Conferees worked hard to kill the program and succeeded.

Cosponsored 1999 amnesty for one million illegal aliens from Central America and Haiti

Rep. Blagojevich cosponsored H.R.36, thereby working to put about one million illegal aliens from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti, including their spouses and children, on a path to U.S. citizenship. He joined with those who believe that illegal aliens should not be forced to return to their own countries if those countries were hit by Hurricane Mitch. These illegal aliens came to the U.S. years before the hurricane and failed to qualify as refugees or asylees. Rep. Blagojevich advocated rewarding those who violated U.S. immigration laws by making them permanent lawful U.S. residents.