John Hope Bryant: “Mr. Chairman, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the high level of immigration is responsible for 50 percent of…”

“Mr. Chairman, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the high level of immigration is responsible for 50 percent of the decline in real wages for America's lowest skilled workers, that is, those who did not complete high school. Yet, Members stand on the floor of the House and tell us that we have an obligation to continue a system of chain migration in which, when immigrants decide to bring their spouse and children and come to the United States, they also are allowed later to bring in their adult children and their brothers and their sisters. Well, I submit that 20 years of experts recommending that we change this ought to give us a heads up about something, and that is simply this. If you do not want to leave your brothers and sisters and do not want to leave your adult children, then do not leave them. The American people have no obligation to tell all the people of the world that when you immigrate here you can bring family members other than one's spouse, minor children, and parents. We cannot continue to allow new arrivals to bring brothers and sisters and adult children with them as well, and expect to maintain a manageable population size. What about our high school dropouts? What about our low-wage workers? It is not fair to continue driving down their wages with an immigration policy that disregards the interests of low skilled American workers.”